Surprise! Fifth Ave. Shops Still Pay World's Stiffest Rents

Suck on this, Champs Elysées! For the third year running, New York's Fifth Avenue boasts the most exorbitant retail rents on the planet.

According to brokerage Cushman & Wakefield's annual talley, which tracks the world's top 233 shopping locations across 47 countries:

An average 1,000 square foot unit on Fifth Avenue, at its most expensive stretch near the junction with 57th Street, now costs around US$1,350 per square foot.

Joanne Podell, senior director of Cushman & Wakefield's retail services, told Commercial Property News that the sharpest increases have come in--gasp!--Midtown:

"Retail from 50th to 42nd, there's been a significant increase in rent. They've almost doubled. That speaks to the power of Fifth Avenue and the short stretch of space."

Of course, envoking that power doesn't necessarily translate to an equally high rate of cash-register reciepts, noted C&W's Gene Spiegelman:

"This is not just about sales at the till, but about the brand value of retail real estate. In a world of advertising 'clutter', we see companies increasingly leveraging their brands through real estate and Manhattan's Fifth Avenue is a prime example of this trend."