Wanted in Rome
Eye-watering price tag is equivalent of apartment price in Rome suburbs. A single parking space measuring just 10 square metres near the Trevi Fountain in central Rome has been listed for sale at €270,000, according to Italian media. The "non negotiable" price for the indoor parking space on Via in Arcione was reported by La Repubblica newspaper on Thursday, the day after a similar case in the heart of Rome made national headlines. A 13-sqm parking space near Piazza Navona was listed for sale at €260,000 - equivalent to €20,000 per square metre, or the price of an apartment in many suburbs of the city. The listing, advertised on Italian property websites, related to a covered space in a shared underground garage at Via di Santa Maria dell'Anima 55, in the basement of a grand residential building in the historic centre. The space is not a private lock-up but an open bay in a communal car park, described as suitable for one car and one motorbike. Listed amenities include round-the-clock access, an automatic gate, a concierge service and CCTV surveillance. Monthly service charges are stated at €20. Other cases in Rome According to the Corriere della Sera, a similar 12-sqm parking space near the Trevi Fountain is on the market for €205,000, while a double-sized space of 24 square metres near the Pantheon is listed at €330,000. A 15-sqm space at Piazza dei Santi Apostoli, just off Piazza Venezia, is priced at €209,000. Further afield, prices remain high: a 20-sqm box at Piazza Pitagora in the affluent Parioli neighbourhood is asking nearly €200,000, and a 22-sqm lock-up on Via Giulio Cesare in the upmarket Prati district is listed at €235,000. Shortage of parking spaces Estate agents working in the sector offer a straightforward explanation. One agent handling the Piazza dei Santi Apostoli listing told Corriere della Sera that the supply of private parking in the centre is extremely limited, that even a single garage bay commands a high value, and that the asking prices are proportionate to the cost of surrounding residential property. Demand shows no sign of slackening, with agents suggesting the spaces are unlikely to remain on the market for long. Car ownership Several factors are driving the trend. Rome has close to 1.9 million private cars for a population of under three million, and according to the city's mobility agency the number is growing at roughly two per cent per year. Meanwhile, average car dimensions are increasing sharply, rendering many older spaces inadequate - a listing in the Trieste district, for instance, warns that its garage door is only 2.1 metres wide, barely sufficient for many modern vehicles. Urban mobility policies are simultaneously reducing the number of on-street spaces as road room is redistributed between different users. Theft and the so-called "cannibalisation" of parts from vehicles parked on streets, adds further pressure to garage demand. A secure parking space, agents say, is increasingly sought not merely for convenience but as protection. Garage prices The property research firm Tecnocasa reports that the average sale price of lock-up garages rose by 2.7 per cent over the past year and that of open parking bays by 2.6 per cent, though agents at Remax note that in areas of lowest supply the increases are considerably steeper. The conversion of disused commercial premises into parking units has become a specialised segment of the construction industry, with developers acquiring suitable buildings, subdividing them, and reselling individual spaces at a profit. Availability in the historic centre, however, remains constrained by heritage restrictions on older buildings, ensuring that prices there are likely to continue rising.
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