REBNY: retail rents still rising

Manhattan is an increasingly costly place to run a retail establishment.

Asking rents for ground floor space surged on major Manhattan corridors by 12.5 percent year-over-year to $225, according to a Manhattan fall retail report the Real Estate Board of New York released today.

Ground floor retail rents on the West 42nd Street corridor climbed the greatest amount from last year with a 50 percent surge in the median asking rent to $300 per square foot. The city’s high-end shopping corridor along Madison Avenue rose 26 percent to $1,000 a foot.

Of REBNY’S six market areas, midtown south between 15th and 34th streets saw the sharpest increase, with asking rents for ground floor space spiking 15.4 percent, to $300.

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Tony Fifth Avenue in Midtown had the highest average asking rent at $1,035 for a ground-floor space, a 27 percent boost from fall 2005.

Overall, the report indicated that the average asking rent for retail space in Manhattan rose four percent to $106 a foot.

REBNY collected information for the biannual report from its members, with a particular focus on the ground-floor space in major retail areas.
By Lauren Elkies