Parking in Midtown South (Madison Square Park Area)

Generally, parking has been getting more expensive as more buildings go up and the supply goes down. If you're not concerned about a NYC housing correction (I assume you're not as you're considering buying a condo), and if you plan on using the car alot and you don't like the inconvenience of parking far away, you should be willing to seriously consider favoring a garage because garage prices aren't coming down.

Assuming you can get the garage as part of your condo purchase price and therefore get a tax deduction on the interest, you could probably justify $100k + for the cost of the garage, at today's interest costs. This would be equivalent to about $500/month after taxes and you lock in the costs, so don't have to worry about parking inflation. Another way to look at it would be that a standard garage space is 18 feet X 9 feet or about 162 sq ft. At $100k, you're paying about $620/sq. ft, which is alot, but probably about 50% of the cost of your condo per sq. ft. That seems o.k. to me, you've just got to decide how convenient you want your parking to be because there are now cheaper, less convenient options. Also, if you're already paying $1 million + for a condo, you might as well spend a little more for the convenience! It's a lifestyle issue.

On the against garage side - The cheapest garages are probably around Midtown West (for a covered garage). I pay $320/month including tax for a large SUV. I decided the costs of a cab and the slight inconvenience was worth the savings, but I don't use the car that often. $320/month is going to be cheaper than buying a garage, but you've got the negatives of the inconvenience and the reality that prices will probably be going up in the long run.

Very helpful Goldie. Thanks for the detailed feedback.

Goldie, $320/month in Midtown West for an SUV seems very reasonable. Where can I find a covered garage at that rate?

I pay 350 in midtown east for what they term "an exotic." Best deal I could find by far.

Gcooper1974: Call Icon parking and tell them what you're looking for. They put me in a garage at 51st and 8th avenue. There are 4 or 5 parking companies that control alot of garages in New York. I did a google search, called them all and at the time Icon was the best. This was 1-1/2 years ago and they haven't increased the rate.