Fact of the Day: Almost US$1 Million Parking Spot

The Center in Hong Kong's Central district has a really expensive parking spot

Hong Kong can proudly say that even though its economy is tanking because of five months of anti-government protests, the city is still having record-breaking property transactions.

The latest is the world's most expensive parking spot in Central for US$969,000, or US$7,205 per square foot for a space that measures 134.5 square feet.

The price of the parking spot is US$7,205 per square foot

Yep a parking spot. It's located in a prime area, an office building called The Center, a building that also has the record of being the most costliest commercial building ever sold at US$15.5 billion last year.

The price of the parking spot, HK$7.6 million, is more than three times Hong Kong's median home price, which itself had topped the global rankings for nine consecutive years, according to CBRE.

Keep in mind that about one in five people in Hong Kong live below the poverty line, and so this property transaction underscores the immense wealth gap in the city.

"Good times or bad times, there are still ultra-rich people paying whatever needed to get what they like," explains James Mak, Midland Commercial's district sales director.

Many live in spaces smaller than a parking spot in Hong Kong

There are only 402 parking spots in The Center for 1.2 million square feet of office space, and the average price for these spots is HK$6 million.

Guess whoever bought that HK$7.6 million parking spot really, really needed it...