How important is having a car space on title when buying a Southbank apartment?

In short, having a car space on title certainly adds to the value of the property and certainly increases its appeal to the general market. Having a car space on title should be a very important point of your purchase criteria for a Southbank apartment.

Mistakes are often made by owner occupiers who don't have a car and thus don't consider the inclusion of a car space in their purchase criteria. While a car space may serve no specific purpose for them, consideration should still be given to who may want to buy it, if and when they wish to sell in the future.

Note: Your unused car space can usually be rented to another resident, check first with the body corporate managers on the specific guidelines in place.

Where some investors make a mistake, is to assume that the abundant public transport will compensate the need for accommodating a personal vehicle. Consider the parking need for the resident's visitors that travel by car, the growing use of motor scooters (they need somewhere safe to park) and the city dwellers that still enjoy a weekend drive.

Not every tenant requires a car park and from a "long term investor" point of view, apartments without a car space may still be attractive if the rental return is proved to be excellent and the property located in an above average location.

Points to Note

While it may seem extravagant, it is also important to consider purchasing with two car parks when the apartment has 3 bedrooms or more. Having 2 car parks, even if in tandem, is a growing requirement of buyers seeking 3 bedroom apartments, particularly amongst owner occupiers who tend to have greater budgets than investors.

The cost in use of private public car parks has been escalating year by year and the availability of council off street parking is diminishing.

The inclusion of a car space on title usually increases the overall rate of capital growth of the apartment compared to a similar apartment without a car space.

The time "on market' is also less for those apartments with a car space on title than those without.

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