Pitt Street remains world's 7th most expensive retail precinct
Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall has remained as the world’s 7th most expensive retail precinct, with rents remaining steady at $14,000 sqm, according to the latest rankings from Cushman & Wakefield.
The annual ‘Main Streets across the World’ report, released annually by Cushman and Wakefield, found that Pitt Street Mall has maintained its premium position despite relatively flat rental growth and an ongoing rise in online retail sales.
According to the report, strong foot traffic and the increased demand for experiential shopping is supporting rents and most retailers continue to trade strongly within the precinct, particularly in the high-end luxury category.
Rankings for the Asia Pacific region shows Pitt Street was third most expensive behind Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay and Tokyo’s Ginza district, with Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall climbing the APAC rankings from 6th to 5th at $7,000 sqm.
Brisbane’s Queen Street has maintained it's 8th place spot in the APAC region, with retail rents averaging $4,500 sqm.
Matt Hudson, National Director of Retail Leasing, Cushman & Wakefield Australia and New Zealand, said “Australia has firmly maintained its position as host to one of the world’s top ten most expensive retail streets, encouragingly, demand for large stores has been strong."
"A number of key locations are under development and currently seeking large scale flagship tenants, which is providing heightened competition for key shopping malls which do not offer the street or brand exposure of a flagship location.”
“In Sydney, there are also a minimum of 6 new retail precincts under development in and around the CBD, providing opportunity for retailers," noted Mr Hudson.
Michael Di Carlo, Director of Retail Leasing, Cushman & Wakefield Australia and New Zealand, added, “while rents have remained at stable levels, with continued growth in online sales and uncertainty in consumer confidence, there has been a general increase in retailer requests for break clauses and/or shorter leases.
He said, "this is evident in the rise of small businesses opting for ‘try before you buy or lease’ options via pop up retail licenses as well as increased levels of landlord incentives."
Despite a small decline in average rents, Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay area took the number one spot, with a figure of USD$2,671 per square foot/year.
This is primarily due to a a decline in New York rents which has seen Upper 5th Avenue slip back to second place globally, with average rents at USD$2,250 psf/yr compared with USD$3,000 in the previous 12-month period.
London’s New Bond Street meanwhile is the most expensive European location, in third place globally, with rents broadly flat year-on-year at USD$1,744 psf/yr.
Tokyo’s Ginza is the highest-ranked Asian street, with rents on average costing (USD$1,219 psf/yr).
According to the report, streets in emerging markets in Africa and Latin America account for most of the locations at the other end of the rankings, with rents as low as USD$20-30 psf/yr.