Chicago’s Michigan Avenue remains one of the most expensive streets in the United States for retailers. But even with retail rents averaging more than $500 a square foot as it winds through downtown Chicago, Michigan Avenue rents still pale in comparison to New York’s Upper Fifth Avenue.
Those are some of the findings from Cushman & Wakefield‘s most recent Main Streets Across the World report.
The report, released in early November, tracks more than 500 of the top retail streets around the globe, ranking them by their prime rental value. According to the report, retail rents have risen in 35 percent of streets around the world, even with the increased economic uncertainty across the globe.
New York’s Fifth Avenue again held its position as the most expensive global retail location. According to Cushman & Wakefield, by the second quarter retail rents here reached $3,500 a square foot, a jump of 3.6 percent year over year. Fifth Avenue rents are also 46 percent higher than the average retail rents on the Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, the street that Cushman & Wakefield said had the second-highest average retail rents. Retail rents on Causeway Bay average $2,399 a square foot.
The United States claims seven of the top-10 most expensive cities in the Americas, with Toronto, Rio de Janeiro and Vancouver streets coming in at sixth, seventh and eighth.
Chicago’s Michigan Avenue saw retail rent growth of 8.2 percent year over year, with the average retail rent here hitting $525 a square foot.
