Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Guess What Joni Mitchell?

Paradise is a parking lot.

The Toronto Globe and Mail reports:
Lack of new supply, insatiable demand and condo developments mean parking is practically recession-proof...

The price of parking has consistently increased each year, as downtown developers pave over parking lots to build condo paradises. A shortage of spots, a lack of new supply and insatiable demand have all contributed to steady price gains in an often forgotten corner of commercial real estate.

In the past 10 years, the price of a Calgary spot has increased by 233 per cent, according to Colliers International. Toronto prices have gone up 130 per cent.

“There is no purer form of economics than those found in the parking lot,” said Julian Jones, senior vice-president at Vancouver-based Impark, which operates lots across North America. “It is completely market driven, and it is not easy to adjust quickly to demand fluctuations.”...

Canadian parking prices pale in comparison with other global centres. London’s city centre is the most expensive in the world at $933 (U.S.) a month, with its West End coming in second at $874. Hong Kong ($745), Tokyo ($654) and Zurich ($605) rounded out the Top 5.

In North America, Midtown Manhattan was the most expensive, at $538, while downtown spots in New York fetched $529. Calgary was the third most expensive, followed by Boston ($425) and San Francisco ($375).

3 comments:

  1. She effectively predicted all this sh*t over 35 years ago.
    Certainly the Greatest artist of our times.

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  2. Anonymous - The point of the article was that fewer parking lots have been built than consumers are demanding. High demand and relatively low supply results in skyrocketing prices. I'm not a fan of Joni M. but I don't recall her ever singing about skyrocketing prices and not enough parking lots.

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  3. This fits in nicely with teleprompter's hatred of cars. He wants people out of cars. It's good for their BMI.

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