Two Boston Parking Spots Go For $560,000 After Bidding War

How much is parking really worth in a big, car-unfriendly city like Boston? In one neighborhood, more than half a million dollars, it turns out.

The Boston Globe reports that a fierce bidding war between neighbors vying for two spaces in the Back Bay area shot up from $42,000 to $560,000 at a recent IRS auction. They were for a pair of tandem spaces — you know, the two-row setup where the car in front of you blocks you from getting out. Dozens of people turned out to bid on the spaces, which previously belonged to a man who defaulted on his taxes.

If that sounds expensive, it's because it is. But the cost to own a parking space in Boston is already obscene, and the record for a single spot was set at $300,000 back in 2009, the newspaper reports. In addition, they said that two tandem spots on Commonwealth Avenue sold for $200,000 last summer, and a single spot on Marlborough Street went for $250,000 in December.

The best part, as our pals over at Gawker note, is that the woman who won the auction already has a place to park, but will use these extra spaces for her guests. Must be nice.

Is a parking spot ever worth half a million and change?

Photo credit InSapphoWeTrust

Hat tip to $kaycog!