Despite economic hardship, parking garage owners and operators nationwide have managed to hold rates at last year’s levels, according to the latest North American Parking Rate Survey released by real estate services firm Colliers International.
Despite a loss of 6 million jobs and a significantly more challenging business environment, few markets have seen a meaningful pullback in parking rates, the survey said.
In contrast, the survey said Canadian parking costs registered sizeable gains. Also, parking rates in regions around the world largely mirrored U.S. pricing trends, the survey said.
Daily and monthly parking rates in the U.S. diverged during the past 12 months, with daily rates up 1.2 percent ($0.18) and monthly rates sliding by 0.9 percent ($1.47). Such relative steadiness in the face of the recession may be attributed to a continued imbalance between parking supply and demand, according to Colliers.
The modest 0.9 percent drop in U.S. monthly parking rates is attributed to a substantial decline in office occupancies, which pushes monthly rates lower. However, monthly rates’ drop was quite mild when compared to the significant weakness in the office sector.
The 1.2 percent increase in daily rates indicates that demand for daily parking remains remarkably strong even as the economy and retail sector continue to suffer. This underscores the strong ties people have to their cars, the firm said.
Boston, with a median monthly rate of $403, is one of the five most expensive parking districts in the country, below Midtown and Downtown Manhattan. The daily median rate in Boston is $34.
