Unlike Beacon Hill, a high percentage of Back Bay condominiums have parking options. A review of a recent 12-month sales period shows that the majority of closed condo transactions in the Back Bay included secured parking options. That is, for 54 percent of the condominiums sold, the condominium either came with parking that was assigned, deeded, privileged or — at bare minimum — had the option of being purchased.
What’s the value of parking in Back Bay? One broker called this ”a trick question.” He might be right. For starters, like the real estate in Back Bay, the value of a parking space is all about location, location, location. Parking on the first block of Com Ave has sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet parking at the garage behind the Somerset at 400 Com Ave recently sold for “only” $75K. And the four parking spaces (2 tandems) behind 511 Beacon street sold in May for “just” $150,000 total. To see how the parking availability affects the value of condominiums in the Back Bay, consider the following: In the same 12-month period referred to above, Back Bay condos that were listed in MLS without secured parking — either short-term (rental) or long-term (assigned, deeded, privileged) — sold at a median dollar-per-square-foot of $664. On the other hand, buyers purchasing Back Bay condominiums that promised rental parking were willing to pay a median of $700 a square foot. (Note to sellers: Secure rental parking for your place and get $36 more for every square foot in your condominium.)
While securing rental parking might mean a modest increase in the value of a condominium, securing long-term parking looks like a game changer. The median price paid for a Back Bay condo with at least one long-term secured parking space was $1.4 million. That’s nearly three times the median price of condominiums without parking. The $823 per-square-foot median for these condos was nearly 25 percent higher than the median square foot price for condos that promised no parking.
Want a condominium with two parking spaces in Back Bay? The price for such an amenity is higher than the penthouse units of many of the buildings at which you would want to park. The median price of $2.65 million (at $978 a square foot) is a staggering sum and can be interpreted to mean that the cost of a second space is over $1 million.