NYC's Fifth Avenue Continues Reign As Most Expensive Retail Market
Fifth Avenue continues to have the world’s highest prime retail rents—the highest possible rents in a city’s best retail district—according to a new CBRE report.
Global prime retail rents grew 3.7% last quarter, the report says, bolstered by growing US consumer confidence and tightening supply in Europe.
While rents on Hong Kong’s Russell Street declined 33% to $1,856/SF—mainly due to a slowdown in Chinese tourism and locals’ prudent spending—Fifth Avenue experienced a 14.3% increase, now hovering around $4k per SF.
With increasing availability and increasing concessions, however, NYC’s retail market has also cooled slightly, CBRE retail services vice chairman Andrew Goldberg said. And, as more brands look to less expensive, but still highly coveted, locations (Times Square, Brooklyn), Fifth Avenue’s stability may require even more concessions, CBRE global retail chairman Anthony Buono added.
Other US markets that saw increases include Chicago (9.4%), Washington, DC (8.7%), Denver (7.7%) and San Francisco (3.8%). Miami posted a 7.1% decline as Latin American tourism stalled, and was only major US market to decrease.
London’s prime rents increased 53.8% in the past year, easily dwarfing other top international markets like Rome (28.9% growth) and Milan (20%). Given a scant supply of prime space, Anthony said, British rents will only continue to have strong growth.
