There is a quiet issue sitting underneath Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs property market.
There is a quiet issue sitting underneath Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs apartment market.
It is not always the first thing people talk about. It is not usually the hero image in the brochure. And it is rarely treated with the same importance as views, finishes, architecture or location.
But when a buyer is seriously considering an apartment — particularly a downsizer coming out of a family home — it can become one of the most important questions in the entire decision.
Where do we park the second car?
Where do we put everything?
Is there proper storage?
Can we charge an electric vehicle?
Will this apartment actually work for the way we live?
In my view, parking, garaging and storage are no longer minor details in the Eastern Suburbs market. They are becoming major value drivers.
And as Sydney moves further toward apartment-style living, particularly through suburbs such as Bondi Junction, Rose Bay, Double Bay, Edgecliff, Bondi, Randwick and surrounding areas, this issue will only become more important.
Sydney Is Changing — But People Still Own Cars
The planning direction is clear.
More density is coming. More apartments are coming. More low and mid-rise housing is being encouraged around town centres, railway stations, transport hubs and established village precincts.
That may make sense from a housing supply point of view.
But real estate is not only about planning policy. It is about how people actually live.
And in the Eastern Suburbs, people still own cars.
According to 2021 Census data, in Waverley, which includes Bondi Junction, Bondi, Bronte, Tamarama and Waverley, 47.8% of occupied private dwellings had one motor vehicle, 24.9% had two vehicles and 7.2% had three or more vehicles.
In Woollahra Municipality, covering areas such as Rose Bay, Double Bay, Bellevue Hill, Vaucluse and Woollahra, 45.3% of households owned one car, 27.4% owned two cars and 8.9% owned three or more.
In Randwick City, 44.5% of households owned one car, 26.2% owned two cars and 8.9% owned three or more.
Across key Eastern Suburbs council areas, roughly one-third of households have two or more vehicles.
That is the number the apartment market cannot ignore.
Because if around one-third of households have two or more cars, then larger apartments with only one car space do not always reflect the reality of the buyer.
The planning assumption may be that people living near transport will need fewer cars.
But the buyer standing inside the apartment may be thinking something completely different:
“This is beautiful — but where does the second car go?”
The Downsizer Is Not Always Downsizing Their Life
One of the biggest mistakes in the market is assuming that a downsizer simply wants something smaller.
That is too simplistic.
Most downsizers are not trying to downgrade their life. They are trying to simplify it.
They may be moving from a family home in Rose Bay, Bellevue Hill, Dover Heights, Vaucluse, North Bondi, Woollahra, Randwick or Coogee. They may no longer want the pool, the garden, the stairs, the maintenance or the constant cost of running a large home.
But that does not mean they want to give up comfort, independence or flexibility.
And it certainly does not mean they only have one car.
I know many people in their late 60s and 70s who still live very active lives. One car may be used for appointments, shopping and family. The other may be used for golf, work, grandchildren, social commitments or simply personal independence.
The car is not just a vehicle.
For many people, it represents freedom.
So when a downsizer walks into a beautiful apartment and sees one car space and a small storage cage, the emotional response can quickly change.
They may love the view.
They may love the kitchen.
They may love the location.
But then the practical questions start.
Where do the suitcases go?
Where do the golf clubs go?
Where do the old family boxes go?
Where do the tools go?
Where do the bikes go?
Where does the second car go?
This is where a sale can become difficult.
Not because the apartment is bad.
But because the apartment does not solve the buyer’s real-life problem.
The Market Is Already Pricing Parking as a Separate Asset
We do not need to guess whether parking has value.
The market is already showing us.
In Bondi Beach, a private parking space on Notts Avenue reportedly sold for $304,700 in January 2024.
In North Bondi, the owner of an apartment at 17/101 Ramsgate Avenue reportedly rejected a $1 million offer for the garage alone. That is an extraordinary number, but it tells you something very clearly: in the right position, secure garaging is not just a convenience. It is a rare asset.
At 12A/77 Ramsgate Avenue, North Bondi, a small one-bedroom apartment with a rare lock-up garage attracted major attention because of the scarcity of garaging near Ben Buckler and Bondi Beach.
In Darling Point, a standalone lock-up garage at 26–28 Etham Avenue was marketed with offers over $100,000.
In Bondi Junction, a secure car space at 71–85 Spring Street was marketed with an estimated rental value of around $100 per week, showing that even a single car space can be treated as a small income-producing asset.
These examples are not just interesting stories.
They are market signals.
They show that parking, garaging and storage have become part of the value equation in Sydney’s east.
A car space is not always just a car space.
In the right building, in the right suburb, with the right buyer, it can materially affect the value, appeal and saleability of an apartment.
One Car Space Can Be a Serious Limitation
In many new developments, one car space is treated as the standard allocation.
For some apartments, that may be enough.
A one-bedroom apartment close to transport may not need more. An investor-style apartment may still sell with one space, or even none, depending on the location and buyer profile.
But in the prestige Eastern Suburbs market, particularly for larger two-bedroom, three-bedroom and penthouse-style apartments, one car space can become a serious limitation.
A second car space can change the buyer pool.
A third car space, where it exists, becomes rare.
And a proper lock-up garage can become extremely valuable, especially if it also provides storage.
This is particularly relevant in suburbs such as Bondi, North Bondi, Bondi Junction, Rose Bay, Double Bay, Coogee and Darling Point, where street parking is already under pressure.
A buyer spending serious money does not want to rely on luck to park the second car.
The street is not the solution.
If a buyer is paying $3 million, $5 million, $7 million or more for an apartment, they usually expect the building to solve practical problems, not create new ones.
Storage Is the Other Silent Deal Breaker
Storage is just as important as parking.
In some cases, it is even more emotional.
People do not just downsize a property. They downsize a lifetime.
They have family photographs, documents, suitcases, artwork, sporting equipment, tools, Christmas decorations, old furniture, children’s belongings and items they are not ready to let go of.
A small basement cage may satisfy the marketing checklist, but it may not satisfy the buyer.
This is where many developments need to think more carefully.
If the apartment is aimed at downsizers, the storage solution needs to be real.
Not token.
Not leftover space.
Not a wire cage that barely fits a few boxes.
Real storage gives buyers confidence.
And confidence is what makes people act.
EV Charging Is the Next Major Question
The next issue is electric vehicles.
A few years ago, the question was simply: “Does the apartment have parking?”
Now the question is becoming: “Can I charge my car?”
That question will become more important every year.
In older strata buildings, EV charging can be complicated. The electrical infrastructure may not have been designed for multiple chargers. The owners corporation may not have a clear policy. The building may need upgrades. The costs may need to be shared or allocated.
Even in new buildings, buyers should not simply assume that a car space is EV-ready.
They need to ask:
Can a charger be installed?
Is there enough electrical capacity?
Has the owners corporation approved a system?
Is the charging connected to the individual lot or a shared system?
What will it cost?
For prestige buyers, EV-ready parking will increasingly become an expectation.
The buyer of tomorrow is not only buying a place to park.
They are buying a parking system that supports the future.
Developers Are Caught Between Cost and Market Demand
Developers have a difficult equation.
Basement parking is expensive. Excavation is expensive. Construction costs have risen sharply. More parking can reduce yield, add risk and make feasibility harder.
At the same time, planning policy is encouraging more housing near transport and town centres, where the assumption is often that people will rely less on cars.
But the Eastern Suburbs market is not always that simple.
A buyer may live near Bondi Junction station and still own two cars.
A downsizer may move to Rose Bay because they want village living and walkability, but still want secure parking.
A couple may walk to cafés and shops, but still need cars for medical appointments, grandchildren, golf, family, work or travel.
This is the difference between a planning model and real life.
The market does not only ask whether a development complies.
The market asks whether it works.
Bondi Junction, Rose Bay and the Next Wave of Apartment Living
As density increases across the Eastern Suburbs, this issue becomes harder to ignore.
Bondi Junction will continue to attract apartment development because of its transport, retail and infrastructure. Rose Bay, Double Bay, Edgecliff and parts of Woollahra are also part of the next housing wave.
But the real issue is not how many apartments are built.
It is whether they work.
If apartments are too small, have inadequate parking, weak storage and no proper EV solution, they may suit the planner but not the buyer.
And that matters most in the downsizer market, where buyers are not simply comparing one apartment with another. They are comparing apartment living with the comfort, flexibility and practicality of the homes they are leaving behind.
That is a much higher standard.
