"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett is an American investor, industrialist and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world (reference Wikipedia). And he has come up with some pretty wise sayings over the years.

Where value differs from the price of a property is where one property performs over and above another.

For instance, you can choose a lot of apartments to buy for, say, $600K. But the value comes into it when you consider that many will be average performers when it comes to capital growth, while some will be poor performers and a small percentage will out-perform the market. So, in 5 years time, one apartment may be worth $700K and another may be worth $1M. That’s where the difference between price and value really hits home.

Often it is worth paying a premium for a property that is more likely to perform ahead of the median growth rate for its suburb. Many people get bogged down on the purchase price and forget the bigger picture. You always need to ask yourself “does this property have more of the characteristics that buyers in this area like?” If the answer is yes, it may be an overachiever. If the answer is no, then you do need to be very focussed on the price you pay, as the value could really suffer over time.

Despite the push for a greener world and various initiatives to reduce the amount of cars in the CBD, those of us who choose to live in the inner suburbs still have a high reliance on our own car as a mode of transport.

Unfortunately many of these suburbs came into existence long before Henry Ford invented the motor car and early town planners did not take into account provision for parking for the residents in the Noughties. We see properties in all price brackets without parking and we estimate that some of the inner suburbs (Darlinghurst and Newtown, for instance) as little as 25% of the houses could have parking. So when it comes to purchasing property, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that a carspace is a definite asset! The existence of a carspace has been estimated to add as much as $200K to the value of an inner city property and this figure drops to around $50K in areas with more available on-street parking.

But the reality is that despite the limited availability of off-street parking people desire to live in suburbs close to the city. As a result, there is distinct competition for on-street parking spaces and all local councils have a parking scheme designed to give favour to its residents.

These schemes all generally work on similar lines. If your property has no off-street parking you will usually be eligible for the maximum number of permits. If you have one carspace, you may be eligible for a reduced number of permits. If you are lucky enough to have two or three carspaces on your property, you won’t be getting any additional permits from your local council.

All councils charge a fee for their permits. But if you live in Leichhardt Municipality you won’t be paying anything unless you lose your permit and need to replace it.

The City of Sydney council area probably faces the most fierce competition for on-street parking and they also have the most complicated residential parking scheme, compounded by a development control plan that means some residences are not eligible – I guess they are trying to make developers include parking in their plans as well as discourage individuals from owning cars.

See below for a brief overview of each council’s maximum permits and links for more information.

City of Sydney Council

http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/AboutSydney/ParkingAndTransport/ParkingSchemes/
A maximum of two permits are available per eligible property. This entitlement is reduced by the number of on-site parking spaces available for the property, within the property.
Fees apply
Residents of many newer properties are not eligible for permits, or are eligible for only one permit.
In Ultimo and Pyrmont, certain residential developments approved after 2 November 1998 are ‘Restricted Properties’. Residents are generally entitled to only one permit per property, reduced by the number of on-site parking spaces available for the property. Contact the City for more information.
In the City East and City South precincts, residents of multi-unit developments approved after 8 May 1996 are not eligible to participate in the resident permit parking schemes.
In the CBD precinct residents of all developments approved after 1 May 2000 are not eligible to participate in the resident permit parking schemes.
There are also a number of other newer properties in the City of Sydney that may not be eligible. Contact the City for more information.
Not all permit types are available in all City neighbourhoods. Visitor Permits are available only in Pyrmont, Ultimo, Glebe and Millers Point, while Business Permits are only available in Glebe, Ultimo and Pyrmont.
The City of Sydney is developing a standard permit parking policy that will address this inconsistency.
From a buyer’s perspective, this is important: It is a condition of development consent for new developments that residents will not be eligible for resident parking permits. This helps to limit the increase in parking demand and traffic from new developments. The restricted access or ineligibility condition is recorded on Section 149 (5) Certificates for the affected properties, and must be notified to all prospective buyers and tenants.

Woollahra Council

http://www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/services/parking/parking_permits
There is a maximum of two residential parking permits issued per property. The number of permits issued per household is reduced by every off-street parking space available at the property, nil off-street parking spaces – eligible for two permits, one off-street parking space – eligible for one permit, two or more off-street parking spaces – not eligible for a permit.
Fees apply

Waverley Council

http://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/transport_and_parking/parking_services/resident_preferential_parking_schemes
A maximum of three permits may be issued to any residence. The maximum number of permits is reduced by the number of off-street parking spaces available.
Fees apply

Randwick Council

http://www.randwick.nsw.gov.au/Moving_around/Roads_and_transport/Parking_permits/index.aspx
The maximum number of permits per dwelling is three. This number will be reduced for every off-street parking space available at your residence.
Fees apply

Marrickville Council

http://www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au/services/parking_permits.html?s=1519182565
There is a limit of 2 permits per approved household and are only issued to permanent residents.
Fees apply

Leichhardt Council

http://www.leichhardt.nsw.gov.au/Permit-Parking-Scheme.html
Maximum number of permits per household is two + visitors permit in some areas.
Initial permit free of charge – payment required for replacement permits.

North Sydney Council

http://www.northsydney.nsw.gov.au/www/html/6359-resident-parking-frequently-asked-questions.asp
Maximum of three permits per residence.
Fees apply

Mosman Council

http://www.mosman.nsw.gov.au/residents/parking
Two permits per residence maximum provided there are two registered cars at the address.
Fees apply
As a nice touch for locals, the owner of each rateable property in Mosman is entitled to 1 free parking sticker enabling the vehicle to which it is permanently fixed to park without paying a fee at the following foreshore reserve carparks: Clifton Gardens, Balmoral South (adjacent to oval), Rosherville & The Spit – East, West and Ellery Park

Willoughby Council

http://www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au/Community/Traffic---Transport/Parking/Residential-Parking/
Each household can apply for a maximum of 2 permits. If the residence has one off-street parking space, the household can only apply for one permit. No permits will be granted to residences with two or more off-street parking spaces.
Fees apply

In some areas you can find townhouses and units selling for similar prices. Assuming all things are equal (size and dollar wise), I would nearly always err towards the townhouse.

There are less of them around and the complexes are often smaller, so capital growth will probably be better. In addition, a townhouse usually has more outdoor space than a unit. Often the strata levies are considerably lower as smaller complexes generally have less common areas and no expensive facilities like pools and gyms.

Of course, if it is a view you are after, you have a better chance of finding one in a multi-story apartment complex than a townhouse.