REAL, REAL ESTATE: THE CAR CONDO 

Home owners step aside. Here's the real growth area for real estate - the car condo.

In Boston car condos started selling in 1979 car at the Brimmer Street Garage. For a lousy US$7,500 each. Today, they fetch $130,000! In Brooklyn Park Slope Garage condos sold two years ago for $17,000. The current price is $39,000.

Depending on the deal, down payments run from 25 to 40 percent with balances running over 10 to 20 years at interest rates around 10-12 percent.

Price depends on location. Sometimes buying, even without considering appreciation, is a bargain compared to renting on a monthly basis, while other locations run slightly more than rent.

In Canada no one has yet started marketing car condos. However, Peter Thomas, founder of Century 21 Real Estate Canada Ltd. says "With a car condo not only do you secure yourself a place to park but also to participate in the appreciation of prime downtown real estate".

Keep watching. This is a product whose time has come.

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