Future condo buyers are unanimous: a parking spot is very important, if not a must. Some consider the resale value, others simply the handy and practical aspect.

"But wow is it expensive!", tells me a young computer consultant who is looking to purchase a condo in Montreal. For over a year now, she is constantly confronted to the very expensive parking spots in her favourite neighbourhood, Rosemont. Despite all that, there is no way she will change her mind: it is parking spot or nothing. Same story for Daniel Quérin, an on-the-road sales representative working in the food industry: "A parking spot is my number one criteria", he says. Nothing less. The average price requested for an indoor parking spot in a Montreal condominium is somewhere around $ 40,000, a price that has doubled in the past 20 years. The price is higher or lower depending of the neighbourhood, the scarcity of parking spots, the price of the condo, etc.

But is a parking spot really worth that much money? Apparently... yes! Suzanne Monier, an accredited real estate broker with 27 years of experience and the founder of the Monier Real Estate Group advises systematically all her clients to purchase a parking spot... or even two! "In some neighbourhoods, like Downtown Montreal or in the Vieux-Montréal it is almost a priority", she explains. "The resale value of a condo diminishes greatly without a parking spot." It is important to note that in some neighbourhoods, parking spots are hard to find on the street, especially during summer.

Aware that they can make some good deals, the new construction project promoters plan to build bigger indoor parkings, adds Suzanne Monier. Sometimes, promoters need to limit the number of parking spots sold to a person, as some owners try to buy 3 or 4 spots at the same time in order to rent them and make profits. There is a market for that!

Basically, the parking becomes an added-value for a potential buyer, as the parking spot can be resold, rented or will simply improve the quality of life of the owner. If one considers our long winters, the number of hours spent on snow removal, the risks of theft and vandalism, owning a private indoor parking spot is indeed a perk. It is now understandable why future buyers would want to prioritize this criteria while looking for a condo and why they would be willing to contract extra debts for this added-value.