Autos Outside the Box

The two-car garage: today, that concept sounds quaintly vintage, like iceboxes and sliced bread.

The second car can hardly be considered a luxury anymore.

So as the auto count goes up, the question presents itself: Do you begin looking for more car space or cars that take up less?

Hailing from Arizona's real estate industry, two entrepreneurs I met at the Men's Luxury Toy Expo in Glendale, Ariz., are turning profits from two very different answers.

Cars Living Large

Car enthusiasts turn to the car Mecca of the Phoenix/Scottsdale area to escape the saltwater menace of coastal states.

Here, houses are often selected based on car needs, which often left realtor Denise Ham hunting down properties with five-car garages. While she specializes in finding homes for cars, Ham's prowess is challenged by the growing three-, four- or even five-car standard.

She is even thinking of enlarging her own garage to accommodate her collection, which includes a 1995 Corvette. "I am a car person and ... when [someone wants] a 12-foot ceiling in the garage I know why," says Ham.

If you don't happen to find a house with an accommodating show room, many Arizona properties won't allow you to add on, in which case your other option is to rent space in a commercial building -- often without the climate control option.

When a developer presented the idea of luxury car condos to Ham, she paid attention and soon found herself selling the Goodwood Motoring Club's condo concept to potential buyers in Arizona.