Speculators buying up parking spaces

Some parking spaces now more expensive than small apartments.

Limited by tough government rules from gobbling up residential property, developers are buying up parking spaces at a pace that is raising fears about a new property bubble.

Analysts said sales of new parking spaces had surged about 50% so far this month. They noted that the prices of parking spaces had jumped 20% to 30% since the government's latest property curbs in October, the increase fueled by hot money pouring into Hong Kong.

The average price for each space in a commercial building near Western was HK$3 million, higher than the cost of a small apartment in some areas of Hong Kong. The total price tag for 34 parking spaces in this building came to an astounding US$12.9 million.

"Car parks have become a new hot item," said Hanson Lam, senior property consultant at Midland Realty. "They're overpriced and I worry that there might be a bubble."