Australia’s CBD parking wars are intensifying, with Sydney rapidly closing in on Brisbane as the nation’s most expensive city to leave the car for the day.
Exclusive new data from Ray White shows Sydney CBD casual parking rates have surged 5.5 per cent over the past year to $81.26 a day — now just behind Brisbane’s $81.72.
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The cost of parking in Sydney’s CBD has risen to $81 a day. Picture: James Gourley.
The sharp rise marks a dramatic turnaround from the pandemic years, when lockdowns and working from home emptied CBDs and sent parking prices tumbling.
Despite Sydney’s office vacancy rate sitting at 13.8 per cent, more than 62,000 sqm of office space was absorbed over the past year as companies expanded and workers returned to desks.
Brisbane retained the top spot even with Queensland’s permanent 50-cent public transport fares offering commuters a cheaper alternative to driving.
Ray White head of research Vanessa Rader said operators were increasingly using “dynamic pricing”, with cheaper Monday and Friday rates reflecting hybrid work patterns.
Parking in Sydney’s CBD is now nearly as expensive as in Brisbane, according to new data. Picture: James Gourley.
MORE: Revealed: The shocking value of a parking space in Sydney suburbs
But Melbourne painted a very different picture, recording its fourth straight annual fall in parking prices, down 1.2 per cent to $63.64 a day.
The Victorian capital now offers the country’s deepest early-bird discounts, with operators slashing prices by almost 60 per cent to lure commuters back into the CBD.
The parking debate comes as a new report from the Grattan Institute argues mandatory parking rules are worsening Australia’s housing crisis by forcing developers to build billions of dollars worth of car spaces many residents neither want nor use.
The report found minimum parking requirements can add up to $137,000 to the cost of a typical apartment, including about $113,000 in Brisbane, $70,000 in Sydney and $62,000 in Melbourne.
Researchers estimated Australia spends more than $1 billion a year building surplus parking, even as the country struggles with housing undersupply and soaring rents.
The report also found up to 40 per cent of parking spaces in some apartment buildings sit empty every night, while about 40 per cent of households living in studio or one-bedroom apartments do not own a car.
Hobart recorded the nation’s strongest annual increase in casual parking prices, jumping 11.5 per cent to $21 a day, while Darwin remained Australia’s cheapest CBD for parking at just $11.10.
Ms Rader said parking prices had become a real-time indicator of CBD recovery, with operators increasingly using ride-share style surge pricing to maximise revenue as workers return to city offices.
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