In this city, rent for car parking space touches Rs 85,000 a month

If you thought the rent you pay each month for your house is rather exorbitant, thank your stars you are not in Honk Kong's Kowloon district!

Hong Kong property rates are some of the highest in the world and renting homes and office spaces too could put a big dent in the pocket. News of a parking space being rented out though made headlines recently because the 135 sq feet space was let out for HK$10,000 (US$1,274, INR 85,000 approximately) per month. South China Morning Post reported that even by Hong Kong standards, the rent amount is astronomically high ànd is a record.

The report claims that prices of properties have shot up recently because of an imbalance between supply and demand. In the building in which the record amount was paid for the parking space, only 70 per cent reportedly have space for their vehicles. Many of them apparently own more than one vehicle which means finding any space becomes even more difficult.

While the price of property in the said building in itself is quite high, locals in Hong Kong have to usually pay more for posh dwellings than most elsewhere for similar localities and houses. And while renting a parking space may appear extremely costly, buying it can be an outrightly outrageous idea - speaking in financial terms. SCMP reported that in 2017, a local paid HK$5.18 million (US$664,260, INR 4.4 crore).

Little wonder then that as per a Reuters report, many locals are now looking to invest in parking spaces and either renting them out or hoping their prices escalate in the times to come, or both.