“Don’t look, there aren’t any left,” explains Damien, happy owner of a garage in the heart of Strasbourg. “It’s full”, “already rented”, “already sold”… This is what we mean when we talk about garages or private parking lots in the center of the European capital. This real estate is worth quite a bit of money today and probably gold tomorrow. Whether renting or buying, having a garage, “it’s rare like buying caviar”, jokes a trader from the Big Island who is thinking of moving his establishment, due to not knowing where to park.
Nothing surprising, however: the city center of Strasbourg is not very large. Added to this are successive traffic and parking policies, as well as the arrival of new modes of urban travel. The development of cycle paths and public transport and the extension of pedestrian zones also have a lot to do with it, professionals explain.
A problem far from being new
A difficulty confirmed by Dorian Schwartz, the agency’s transaction manager Immoval Contades, located in the center of Strasbourg. “It’s complicated,” he admits, “but it’s nothing new. Demand has of course increased recently, that’s for sure, with the change in on-street parking rates, but it was already very strong in recent years. » While he recalls that many parking spaces in the city center have been eliminated and that streets and squares have been pedestrianized, the transactions manager also emphasizes that garages and parking lots have in the past been particularly targeted by investors who did not necessarily have the means to invest in apartments.
“Now it’s a rare product, there is a huge demand from individuals, as it becomes more and more expensive for residents to park near their homes. We have a demand which is enormous but which unfortunately we cannot, or very little, respond to,” assures Dorian Schwartz. As proof, the agency maintains a waiting list and, like many others, does not have any rentals or sales available in the city center. “We never have stock,” explains Dorian Schwartz. If there’s something there, it’s not even worth posting, it’s sold or rented straight away. »
A very tense market, “not counting the sales which are made directly between individuals who stick a poster on their garage door” to rent it or sell it directly, confirms Marie, from the agency Groupimmo Strasbourg. This is located in Neudorf, a district which borders the city center and where paid on-street parking has just been implemented. Although the agency “has not really noted a very strong increase in demand”, it does however note that when a property includes a garage or a parking space, its price increases significantly.
Being able to park near your home
A rarity which also changes demand, previously mainly provided by investors. Nowadays, it is mainly individuals who are looking for private parking spaces. “We even see people who used their garage for storage and who parked their car outside using today, with the sharp increase in on-street parking prices, their garage for parking. The demand comes from co-owners, owners or tenants who are looking to be able to park their vehicle near their home at a fair price, even if it means paying the price, specifies Dorian Schwartz. The latest sales in hypercentres, which may seem excessive but which are nevertheless in relation to what is sold, can reach 45,000 euros for a space in an underground car park. A garage, up to 50,000 euros, or even more depending on accessibility or type of location. »
This scarcity also impacts rents, which have also increased sharply and are close to 150 euros, even for parking in the city center. “And this should continue to increase,” predicts the transactions manager, “since there will be fewer and fewer places on the road”… Sales or rentals in Strasbourg on a siding?