For the first time in 11 years, New York’s Fifth Avenue has been knocked off its spot as the most expensive retail street in the world by Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay.
Commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield reports that rents for retail spaces on Causeway Bay rose 34.9 percent year-over-year, to $2,630 per sq. ft. In contrast, rents on Fifth Avenue rose only 11.1 percent, to $2,500 per sq. ft. That growth rate was below the average for the U.S. retail market overall, which posted a 16.3 percent year-over-year increase in rents.
Fifth Avenue remains the most expensive retail street in the Americas, however. It’s followed by Times Square, with average rents of $2,100 per sq. ft.; Madison Avenue, with average rents of $1,100 per sq. ft. and East 57th Street, with average rents of $1,100 per sq. ft. Rounding out the list is Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles; North Michigan Avenue in Chicago; Union Square in San Francisco; Iguatemi Shopping in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Post Street in San Francisco and Bloor Street in Toronto.
Meanwhile, commercial real estate services CBRE reports that U.S. cities that will see the greatest growth in retail rents over the next two years will include Denver, Colo.; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; New York and San Francisco. CBRE researchers estimate that retail rents stateside are currently 14 percent below their pre-recession level and won’t reach their previous highs for another five years.
