Pitt Street Mall Among World’s Most Expensive Shopping Streets

One of Sydney’s busiest retail strips has again joined precincts in New York, London, Paris and Zurich to number among the world’s most expensive shopping streets.

Pitt Street Mall in the NSW capital has placed eighth in the top 10, according to a new global ranking from real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

However, at $11,850 per square metre per year, the pedestrian mall has slipped down one place from its pre-pandemic ranking of seventh.

Topping the list is New York’s Fifth Avenue, which has reclaimed its position as the world’s most expensive retail street with average rents of $32756.60 per square metre per year.

Pegging the Hong Kong dollar to the US dollar has helped Hong Kong maintain a high-ranking position in 2022 in second place, with Tsim Sha Tsui at $23521.46 per square metre per year displacing Causeway Bay as the territory’s representative in the rankings.

In third, Milan’s Via Montenapoleone at $2259.83 per square metre per year is Europe’s most expensive shopping street for the first time, climbing above New Bond Street in London (fourth, $22296.74 per square metre per year) and Avenues des Champs-Élysées in Paris (fifth, $17203.59 per square metre per year).

▲ Top dollar: Fifth Avenue in New York City is the most expensive shopping street to lease space in the world.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Main Streets Across the World report, launched in 1988, tracks the top retail streets across 92 cities and ranks the most expensive by prime rental value utilising Cushman & Wakefield’s proprietary data. 

An annual report until 2019, this is the first since then—allowing insight into comparative performance pre- and post-pandemic.

 “The industry has been through one of the biggest stress tests imaginable over the past few years, but best-in-class retail real estate has remained robust,” Cushman & Wakefield head of EMEA retail at Robert Travers said.

“While we now face new economic challenges, the conversation has shifted from pessimism to retail´s omnichannel evolution.

“Many brands are playing the long game and seeking to secure prime opportunities to adapt to ever-demanding customer needs.

“With further investment in high-quality in-store experiences and advances in omnichannel approaches, we are confident in the resilience of the sector, particularly at the luxury end, and in key global destination cities.”