Fed up searching for a parking space on the street?

If you are, you could always buy your own parking lot - there's one going in Tonbridge - a snip at just £27,000.

Estate agents Jack Charles originally had three spaces on offer: one at £23,000 and two at £27,000, but one of them has already been sold subject to contract. All three are within the car park at Croft House in East Street.

The agents describe the spot as being "in a central location, close to the mainline station" - although it's actually half a mile away.

Shaun Kidd from Jack Charles said: "Garages and parking spaces are certainly in high demand. Tonbridge has its challenges with parking especially with the progressive roll-out of CPZ (controlled parking zones).

"So securing a bay near to your home, especially in central town locations that have been purchased without an allocated parking space, is not only sensible, it is essential to protect the value of a property longer term.

"We are also aware of properties and conversions that are not permitted to apply for residents parking permits."

Mr Kidd said: "We have seen parking spaces in the centre of town regularly sell for in excess of £25,000..."

Clearly it's all about location. Not far away, in East Peckham, the same firm was marketing a pair of lock-up garages in Old Street for almost the same money - £30,000.

But Mr Kidd said: "They sold within a few days of being listed and we had a number of buyers chasing after them.

Around £20k seems to be the asking place for a garage in Canterbury. There are three currently on sale for that amount - one in St Michael's Place, available freehold through Wards of Canterbury; one in Kemsing Gardens, available through Connells, and one in Miller Avenue through Miles and Barr, who also have one for sale in Broad Street for £25,000.

It seem the closer you get to the coast, the more costly garages become.

In Whitstable, agents Harvey Richards and West are selling a garage in Ivy House Road, for £27,500, while a single garage in Cavell Square, Deal, is on sale through Wards of Deal for £29,995.

Why would anyone go to the expense of buying a parking place or a garage? And why do they differ so much in price?

Tom Dodd, sales manager at Wards of Canterbury, explained: "It's all about location. Garages near a station always attract a premium.

"Parking has become a real problem in many busy towns. With ever more vehicles on the road, finding somewhere to stop can be a nightmare.

Mr Dodd said: "The situation has been made worse because many towns now restrict on-street parking to residents with permits, leaving nowhere for anyone else."

He even suggested that changing work habits as a result of Covid, might be playing a part.

He said: "If people are now only commuting to the office only a couple of days a week, it becomes uneconomic to purchase a car park season ticket. The prospect of having your own guaranteed place to use when you need it becomes more attractive."

In addition to the lack of on-street parking, recent research from Savills suggested that the steady rise in electric vehicle ownership is placing a premium on off-road parking spaces, so that motorists can more easily connect to charge up.

The company found while the number of electric or hybrid vehicles on the roads had increased by 176% over the past two years, the number of publicly available charging places had only gone up by 72%.

In Maidstone for example, there are currently 1,009 registered ULEVs (ultra low emission vehicles), but only 64 public charging points, meaning that there are almost 16 electric cars to every public charging point.

However, Mr Dodd said: "Most garages for sale do not have their own an electric supply so I don't think that's a factor at the moment.

"But we have found that when people are buying a house now they want a parking space outside their home, not tucked away round the corner so that they can run a charging cable to their vehicle."

Of course, there are many reasons why people might want a garage.

Security perhaps? To avoid having their car pranged when left on the street?

Perhaps they are a DIY mechanic and want somewhere to work on the car in the dry?

But let us suppose the motive is monetary, does it make financial success?

Let's go back to that parking space in Tonbridge.

Tonbridge is a big commuter town, with many rail passengers travelling up to London every day.

There are two car parks at the station, both run by APCOA Parking. The daily charge is £7.60, but an annual season is available for £1,388.70.

So it would be more than 19 years before you re-cooped the money you might spend on that East Street parking place.

Over in Maidstone, a rather rickety looking garage in Cornwallis Road, Maidstone, was offered for sale through Harts estate agents for £25,000.

The owner has since withdrawn it from sale. But would the purchase of the garage that came with an additional parking space have been worth it?

The area is at a premium for on-street parking because of the Oakwood student campus nearby, and it is also less than a mile to Maidstone West station.

An annual parking permit at Maidstone West costs £1,093, with a daily rate of £6.30. But there are only 51 spaces and no guarantee that you will get in.

Very close by, there is ample parking at the Maidstone Council Lockmeadow Car Park for £7 a day. A yearly season is £1,163.

So if the alternative for the Cornwallis Road garage owner was to park at Lockmeadow, it would take over 21 years for him or her to recover their outlay.

Of course, what the vendor asks and what he receives are sometimes two different things.

Back in September last year, the Daily Mail and other media outlets ran a story headlined 'Parking Mad!' on what they described "as the most expensive parking space outside of London."

The 4.5m by 2m spot was within a courtyard at The Digey in St Ives, Cornwall, said to be convenient for both Porthmeor Beach and the Tate Galley. It was for sale at £99,950.

However, 10 months later, it is still for sale. There have been no takers.