While the Boston real estate market has remained relatively resilient in the face of the US housing slump, there is a niche within the residential real estate market that most oftentimes flies completely under the radar of downward trends. Parking spaces. These small deeded pieces of land represent a viable option for investors who seek investment vehicles for available cash.
The acquisition of parking spaces in downtown Boston represents a risk-mitigated means by which to enter the real estate investment arena, and has the capability of producing a steady return on investment above and beyond what is available via common investment vehicles that are leveraged for both short and long term semi-liquid investments, such as certificates of deposit or money market accounts, which at present, are returning 2% per year at most.
Simply put, the supply of parking spaces in downtown Boston has not increased quickly enough to satisfy demand (see Snowed In? Garage Parking Spot Investment Looks Clear). The simple concept of supply and demand is tried and true. The investment numbers tell a positive story as well. Take a $50,000 parking space in the South End of Boston purchased with cash, assume monthly rental income of $225, a vacancy rate of 5%, and after accounting for HOA expenses, you have approximately a 5% pretax return on your equity investment.
Despite the downtown Boston residential market maintaining strength, there has been a host of both rumors and news stories about market activity, such as auctions, that inevitably create uncertainty and ambiguity in the market as it relates to value. In the face of that situation, deeded parking spaces, which are purchased in a very similar manner as to any other piece of real property, present the real estate investor a viable means by which to invest into the downtown Boston market, while at the same time not subjecting themselves to the same types of risks inherent with housing investments (see current list of Boston parking spaces for sale).
Keith Munsell 
