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Curbs on buying property in Hong Kong have cooled a market pushed sky-high by mainland Chinese investors. But the steps have sparked a craze for an unlikely new investment -- the car parking space. 

The Asian financial hub slapped new taxes on residential properties in late October to rein in prices, amid growing complaints from Hong Kongers that buying even a tiny flat was now out of their reach.

Mainland Chinese buyers were largely blamed for the increase in prices, which have skyrocketed 90 percent since 2009, as they flocked to the city with their new wealth amid the country's economic boom. 

 

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying hoped the curbs would calm anger over the issue in the space-starved southern city of seven million, after previous promises of making more land available did little to help the situation.

 

The curbs appear to be working but have also had unusual side-effects, with the city's imaginative investors now focusing on car parking spaces, which analysts say could hit an all-time high. 

 

The issue grabbed the public's attention with a single sale of parking spaces for HK$1.3 million ($166,666) last month, according to reports.

 

People who sell the spaces said they had seen a surge in activity, which they believed was because the slots are not affected by the new taxes, as well as being maintenance-free and relatively cheaper than buying a property.

They say car parking spaces were not previously a popular investment in a city which only has about half a million private cars and is well-connected by a vast public transport system.

 

"Parking was a very unattractive investment in the past. It's not easy to get rid of it so it's not a very tradable product," Josh Wong, who runs online car park trading website ParkingHK.com said.  read more