Back Bay parking space sells for record $300,000

Housing prices may be down, but the cost of a coveted parking space is not.

Today, a buyer paid $300,000 for a private parking space in Boston's Back Bay section, making it the most expensive parking space in the city's history, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.

Debra Sordillo, the Coldwell sales agent who brokered the deal, said several residents at 48 Commonwealth Ave. engaged in a bidding war for the space, driving the original asking price of $250,000 up to the record-breaking $300,000. The winning bidder did not want to be identified, she said.

Though the price is more than what many people pay for a house, Sordillo said prime parking spaces in a neighborhood just a block from the Public Garden are in short supply.

"There's only so many parking spaces in the city," said Sordillo. "And in this part, there's very few."

The owners of the parking space live in the six-unit building, which is also up for sale. The people who own the space are also trying to sell a posh two-bedroom suite with direct elevator access for $2.5 million. It includes a space in the building's underground parking garage.

The $300,000 parking space came with few amenities other than its location -- it is outdoors and uncovered.

The previous record was set in 2007, when another buyer paid $250,000 for a nearby parking space behind 31-33 Commonwealth Ave.
(By Megan Woolhouse, Globe staff)