C&W: 5th Ave. retail is world's most expensive high street

Cushman & Wakefield's new report, Main Streets Across the World, has New York City's 5th Avenue (between 49th – 60th Streets) as not only the most expensive retail space in the U.S. but number one globally. The report takes into consideration the top 451 retail streets around the world, ranking the most expensive in 68 countries by their prime rental value and enabling an analysis of trends in retail real estate performance. As of June, the asking rent for Fifth Avenue was $3,000 per square foot, unchanged from 2016, nearly 20 percent up over five years and back to its pre-GFC level.

Rounding out the top-five global city locations: 2. Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay; 3. London’s New Bond Street; 4. Milan’s Via Montenapoleone; and 5. Paris’ Avenue des Champs Elysees. Among the remaining high streets in America the list includes Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, Union Square in San Francisco, Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue and Miami’s Lincoln Road. David Gorelick, Executive Managing Director and Head of Retail for the Americas at Cushman & Wakefield, says that the environment in New York city "is especially competitive, and brands who call Manhattan home set the pace for retail globally. We know that international luxury brands will continue to look to high streets to support their plans for expansion -- and as retailers search for new opportunities to connect with consumers, the market will undoubtedly respond in ways that leverage the unique overlap between the retail, industrial, and eCommerce sectors."