Not owning a car can earn you money – here’s how

It’s clear now that as a society, we will pay almost anything for convenience. From people who bring you food to unlimited video on demand, if there’s a easier or more effortless way to do things, then it’s a monetizable service.

Case in point: finding a car park is not one of life’s great joys.

Whether you need somewhere to securely store your weekend wheels or just need to know that there will always be a spot for you, right where you need it, the business of securing that spot has become quite big business.

This week, Australian-based ‘asset space’ facilitator Spacer completed an acquisition of the North American online parking marketplace, WhereiPark.

This is further to the startup’s previous acquisition of rival Australian service Parkhound in 2019.

Taking on WhereiPark allows Spacer immediate access to North American markets (USA and Canada), and more than doubles the 50,000 space assets the business holds in Australia.

Drive spoke with Spacer CEO Mike Rosenbaum who said "we’re [Spacer] expecting to see at least 50 per cent growth year on year over the next 12 months" for the Australian Parkhound business.

"What we’re seeing is more demand than supply at the moment. Post-lockdowns, there are more people wanting to drive back to the office or drive in general, they're still hesitant to using public transport because the virus is still in the community, so we’re always looking for more people and businesses."

Operating as a peer-to-peer facilitation platform (like car and accommodation sharing platforms), Parkhound allows you to offer your car space (or storage area) for monthly rent.

You use a widget to work out a guide price, but you can set it to be whatever you like. This can range from just over $50 per month in an unreserved outside lot in the outer suburbs to well over $1000 per month for secure parking in the city.

Undercover parking (close to the city) tends to average around $300 per month, or about $3600 per year. The most expensive we found was $1280 per month for secure swipe-access undercover in Sydney CBD.

Spaces can even be flagged if they support electric vehicle charging.

You can rent a space, a garage, even your driveway.

"They can earn on average $300-400 a month and it's passive income," Mr Rosenbaum said of Parkhound users.

"Typically the bookings are long-lasting - they’ll book for the course of the year. It’s really a win win. People would be surprised that people need parking in pretty much every suburb - even some of the fringe suburbs, people might need an extra spot for a weekender." 

The platform takes an approximate 23 per cent commission, but that is applied to the visible listing. So if you list your garage for $200 per month, you earn $200 ($2400 per year) but the listing will show up as $246.

Not bad for just having a parking spot you are otherwise sitting on.