Hong Kong car park space sells for record $664,200

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A parking spot in Hong Kong was sold for HK$5.18 million ($664,200), setting a record in the city where authorities are struggling to contain soaring property prices.

The financial hub is one of the most expensive property markets in the world and private home prices have been hitting record highs for six months in a row.

The parking space in western Hong Kong Island was sold to Kwan Wai-ming on May 31, records at the Land Registry show.

An analyst said the parking space is the most expensive for a residential building.

Local media reports say Kwan is as an executive director at Huarong Investment Stock Corporation Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed company under China's state-owned China Huarong Asset Management Company Ltd.

Huarong Investment Stock Corp was not able to immediately comment on the details.

The parking lot costs more than some flats in Hong Kong, where a nano-apartment of less than 200 square feet can cost as much as $500,000.

Centaline Property Agency research director Wong Leung-sing said he was not surprised at the record price.

"Demand and supply for parking spaces are seriously out of balance," he said.

($1 = 7.7985 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Venus Wu; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)