5th Avenue has become the most expensive commercial location in the world, according to the specialist Cushman & Wakefield, which has just published its world ranking of commercial real estate.
The very famous New York thoroughfare, with an average rent of €21,076 per square meter and per year, claimed first place on the podium, ahead of Hong Kong (Tsim Sha Tsui, €15,134), whose activity strongly suffered with the Covid pandemic.
Via Montenapoleone in Milan (€14,547), the most expensive avenue in Europe, is in 3rd place. It is followed by two other European avenues, New Bond Street in London (€14,346), then the Champs Elysées, which lose one place, with an average rent per square meter and per year of €11,069.
The following places – under €10,000 per square meter per year – are occupied by Tokyo (Ginza), Zurich (Bahnhofstrasse), Sydney (Pitt Street Mall), Seoul (Myeongdong) and Shanghai (West Nanjing Road).
A ranking turned upside down by the health crisis
Cushman & Wakefield’s annual survey hadn’t been conducted since 2019. Unsurprisingly, the Covid pandemic, which led to an average decline of 13% in commercial rent prices worldwide, shook up the rankings significantly.
Asia-Pacific, in particular, strongly penalized by the fall in tourism with border closures and quarantines, suffered a 17% drop during the period of the pandemic, and in China, the correction was much more brutal. The United States (-7%) and Europe (-11%) were less impacted.
Commercial rents still below pre-pandemic levels
Today, Cushman & Wakefield observes that commercial rents have yet to return to pre-crisis levels. With the exception of the Americas zone, where prices are 15% higher thanks to the rebound in the United States – but also in the dollar – these rents remain on average at -6% compared to their 2019 level.
In Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui leases are 41% lower than three years ago, when Conversely, those on 5th Avenue are at +14%. In Paris, the avenue des Champs Elysées has not yet completely erased the scars of the crisis: -18% since the pandemic, with a drop of 4% over the past twelve rolling months.