Brisbane has overtaken Sydney as the Australian city with the most expensive daily parking rates, thanks in part to improved public transport and rising fuel costs.
A study conducted by real estate company Ray White examined parking facilities across Australia’s capital city central business districts (CBD) over the past year, recording average daily rates and comparing recent price growth.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more Brisbane residents are working from home, fuel prices have increased, and public transport has become cheaper, meaning demand for parking in the CBD has fallen.
Ray White found based on daily maximum drive-up casual rates, Brisbane’s CBD now has the highest average parking prices in the country.
While Brisbane’s parking rates have reduced by 3.4 per cent in the past year, the average daily rate of $79.83 has surpassed Sydney’s $77.67 per day, which has fallen by 8.7 per cent in the same time.
Ray White head of research Vanessa Rader said the prices were a result of changed attitudes towards CBD parking and a revised Government approach to public transport.
“Despite this current high Brisbane rate, it could be under further occupancy pressures with the Queensland State Government announcing 50 cent public transport costs starting in August which will aid in the cost of living crisis and will generate ‘car-free’ activity back into the CBD,” she said.
“The gap between parking costs and near free public transport is likely too much to be passed up by regular commuters.”
Elsewhere, Melbourne’s CBD had recorded the worst long-term rate growth of any other region as it showed less than 0.5 per cent annual growth over the past 10 years. The city’s daily rates have decreased to $67.49 over the past year.
Ms Rader attributed the stagnation to difficulty in the CBD office market with long-term high vacancies and a strong work from home movement.
Melbourne does, however, have the country’s highest parking discounts at 65.8 per cent off the maximum daily casual rate for early bird workers.
“Discounting is also strongest across the Melbourne CBD with early bird rates attracting more than a 65 per cent discount, aimed at the office workforce,” Ms Rader said.
“This is the highest in the country followed by Brisbane and Sydney.”
Across the rest of Australia, office vacancies are still high in Adelaide and Perth, meaning average daily parking rates have continued to rise.
Adelaide’s prices are up 10.4 per cent from this time last year to $24.74 per day, while Perth has increased by 4.3 per cent to $35.77 per day. The latter is also offering a 40.6 per cent discount for early bird bookings.
There are limited parking discounts available in Canberra, where daily rates have increased slightly to $20.07, while Hobart averages $18.83 per day.
