Hong Kong tops NYC in expensive retail rents: CBRE report

Hong Kong is hanging on to its lead over New York City as home to the priciest retail space in the world, according to a report from CBRE Group cited by Reuters.

The flashy shopping hub has 50 percent higher retail rent than similar districts, including Manhattan’s most expensive retail stretch, Fifth Avenue from 49th to 59th streets. In high-end shopping areas in Hong Kong, the city averaged $4,328 per square foot.New York took second place among the most expensive global retail markets, with its prime rents averaging $2,970 per square foot, Reuters said.

A Cushman & Wakefield report from November found that Causeway Bay was the most valuable shopping strip in the world, knocking Fifth Avenue from the position for the first time in 11 years. In 2011, Hong Kong climbed to No. 2 after a rental hike of 46 percent quarter-over-quarter, a CBRE report said. [Reuters] —Mark Maurer