LONDON: New York’s Upper Fifth Avenue has overtaken Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay as the most expensive area to lease retail space as an improving US economy boosted prime shopping streets across the country.
Rents on the Manhattan street rose 13.3 per cent to a record US$3,500 a sq ft a year in the 12 months through August, broker Cushman & Wakefield said yesterday. Causeway Bay rents fell 6.8 per cent to US$2,735.
“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 shopping destinations,” said Cushman & Wakefield global retail chief operating officer Matt Winn. Bloomberg