A Clifton parking bay which went on the market this week has raised eyebrows for its eye-watering sale price of R990 000.
But this should come as no surprise when one considers that Clifton, where the average home sells for R23 million, is the most expensive suburb in South Africa.
Overlooking Clifton First Beach, the open parking bay numbered 93 is inconspicuous, and judging from the cars which surround it not much can be gauged about those who live at the luxury apartment block in Victoria Road.
Estate agent John McDermott, who has been instructed to sell the bay, said he was doing a favour to the owner, who moved to London last year.
“We sold her Clifton apartment a year ago after she moved to London and decided that she’s not coming back (to South Africa). She had the parking bay for many years which is not in the same building as the apartment,” said McDermott.
When news broke of the price being offered for the parking bay earlier this week, some might have scoffed but McDermott says in the centre of Beijing a parking bay can cost you $10 million (R129m).
He said potential buyers wanted access to the beach through the apartment building, via the lifts but the body corporate won’t budge on its strict rules which means that those wanted to take a dip have to use the public stairs.
McDermott says overseas buyers were heating up the housing market on the Atlantic seaboard, and that local interest had cooled, coinciding with the political uncertainty.
Caretaker at the building Hans Duitsman, who has worked there for the past nine years, said parking bays did not often go onto the market, “they’re as scarce as chicken teeth”.
He said many of the apartments stood empty for most of the year, with only 45% of owners living there on a permanent basis.
Wesley Wild, who is in the construction industry, says the price of R990 000 for the parking bay was not unusual.
“People sell garages here for over a R1 million. When you’re paying R10-R15m or more for a flat this is not unusual.
“The parking bay adds value to your property and the price is all relative,” said Wild.