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By Susan Edmunds of RNZ

You might be paying too much for your parking, new research suggests.

Vanessa Rader, head of research at Ray White Group, said she was inspired to look at how New Zealand’s car park prices compared, after conducting similar research in Australia.

She found what New Zealanders pay for parking can vary dramatically, even within cities.

She said, on average, the daily fee being paid in CBDs was $39.53 in Auckland, $37.83 in Wellington, and $32.60 in Christchurch.

But Aucklanders could be paying anything from $12 to $80, Wellington from $15 to $50, and Christchurch $10 to $98.

She said that range within cities suggested markets were “highly fragmented” and location, quality and convenience made a big difference to price.

In Australia, the difference between cities was much more pronounced than within them, she said.

“People always think of Auckland as being the most expensive but it’s not wildly more expensive.

“It’s really location-sensitive … if people want to be in certain locations they’re willing to pay that extra ... but if you’re just someone that’s commuting and you’re happy to walk a couple of blocks, you can get a much cheaper price and you’re still definitely within the CBD.”

Rader said Christchurch had the most aggressive “early-bird” discounts, at 48.97%.

She said that suggested oversupply or weaker demand fundamentals.

“This mirrors strategies seen in other struggling markets where operators prioritise volume over margin to maintain cashflow. Wellington’s more moderate 43.44% early-bird discount indicates a more balanced supply-demand dynamic, while Auckland’s 43.95% discount suggests healthy competition without desperation.”

Rader said a large range of prices for parking within cities suggested markets were “highly fragmented” and location, quality and convenience made a big difference to price. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Book online for savings

She said booking online would give people good savings on their car parking. Operators had improved their offerings and made it easier to access charging facilities and parking via app, she said.

“You don’t need to book days in advance or anything, it’s all making it very seamless. Those car parking facilities that have a really easy way of being able to book their parking seem to be doing better.”

Some people who had access to or owned carpark spaces were using platforms to offer car parks to other people when they were not in use, she said. “There seems to be a lot of that happening in Auckland, not anywhere else that I can see.”

Christchurch had a 28.2% online discount, Auckland 19.9%, and Wellington 12.8%.

She said the shift to hybrid working had affected parking operators.

In Auckland, some car parks had additional discounts on Mondays and Fridays. “A clear acknowledgement that these have become the preferred work from home days in many offices… that really shows there’s acceptance that the middle days of the week are when parking is more expensive.”

Few car parks changed hands in New Zealand. “The standout transaction being Downtown Carpark in Auckland’s reported sale of $122 million for 2000 spaces at $61,000 per unit, though notably involves redevelopment for mixed-use purposes rather than pure parking investment.”

Smaller transactions in Wellington (24 Tory Street at $56,610 per unit) suggest varied pricing across different market tiers. However, limited data does make it difficult to benchmark results.

“This transaction scarcity reflects the unique nature of parking assets, which are often tightly held by long-term owners or integrated within broader property portfolios. However, the limited liquidity also creates repositioning opportunities for astute investors who recognise that prime CBD parking sites may hold more value as development land than as income-generating parking facilities.”

- RNZ