New York trumps Hong Kong
Causeway Bay, located in Hong Kong, has lost its first place to New York as its rental prices dropped 6.8 %. Upper Fifth Avenue’s rental prices have reached record heights, at 29,822 euro per square meter per year.
The Avenue des Champs-Elysées (Paris) is number three, although it stabilized its prices after its rental prices skyrocketed last year (+ 38.5 %). New Bond Street (London) stayed put at number 4, although its prices went up 4.2 %. Sydney has overtaken Tokyo at number 5, thanks to a 25 % price increase.
Belgium and The Netherlands lose a spot
In Belgium, the highest rental prices are found on the Nieuwstraat (Brussels) and the Meir (Antwerp): for a 150 sqm store, rental potential reaches 1,750 euro per sqm, which is 262,500 euro per year for the whole store. Those numbers put Belgium 35th in Cushman & Wakefield’s 2014 world ranking, dropping one place.
“Rental prices have dipped considerably because of the recent crisis, but Belgian retail real estate has managed to hold steady”, Cushman & Wakefield’s Thierry Debourse said. He only sees a “slight correction” which started in 2013, “as retail turnover has come under pressure in Belgium as well. Other countries, like the exotic Vietnam, may pass us in the worldwide ranking, but Belgian retail real estate remains the most desirable real estate branch here.”
The Kalverstraat (Amsterdam), like both Belgian shopping streets, loses a spot. The most expensive shopping street in the Netherlands, is now 18th. It can charge up to 2,900 euro per square meter per year.
