Fifth Avenue now the world’s most expensive retail address

Uptown corridor surpasses Hong Kong's Causeway Bay

From left: Gucci On Fifth Avenue and Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
From left: Gucci On Fifth Avenue and Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

New York’s Upper Fifth Avenue is now the world’s Most Expensive Place to lease retail.

Fifth Avenue has surpassed Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay, according to Bloomberg News. Last year, Fifth Avenue came in a distant second behind Hong Kong.

Rents on the corridor rose 13.3 percent to a record of $3,500 per square foot in the 12 months through August, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield Inc. cited by Bloomberg. Causeway Bay rents dropped 6.8 percent to $2,735 a square foot. In the same report last year, average retail rents on Fifth Avenue were $2,500 per square foot, which was the same as the year prior.

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“The arrival of brands such as Microsoft, which recently announced its first flagship store in New York’s Upper Fifth Avenue, further underlined the importance of these premier shopping destinations,” Matt Winn, global retail chief operating officer at Cushman & Wakefield told the website. [Bloomberg News] — Claire Moses