Pitt street mall lease rates
Lunchtime crowds flood into the Pitt Street Mall in the city centre June 4, 2003. Reuters/Will Burgess

The Pitt Street Mall in Sydney has joined the ranks of New York’s 5th Avenue, Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay and Paris’ Avenue des Champs Elysees in the list of the shopping streets with sky-high rental rates.

According to Forbes magazine, a square foot of retail space at the Pitt Street Mall costs an average of US$921 (AU$1,197) on annual rent. This rate placed Sydney to the sixth rank on the world’s most expensive retail locations

Citing data from Cushman & Wakefield, Forbes magazine ranked the world’s shopping districts based on lease rates. As expected, New York City’s 5th Avenue, between 49th and 60th streets, ranked on top of the list with US$3,500 (AU$4,550) average annual rent per square foot of retail space.

World's most expensive shopping streets

The Causeway Bay in Hong Kong ranked second with US$2,399 (AU$3,119). Paris’ Avenue des Champs Elysees landed third with US$1,372 (AU$1,784), followed closely by London’s New Bond Street with US$1,321 (AU$1,717) average annual rent rate. Via Montenapoleone in Milan took the fifth spot with US$1,035 (AU$1,346).

Australia’s busiest and top cosmopolitan shopping centre, Pitt Street Mall in New South Wales, leads the expensive retail locations with three-digit average annual lease rate per square foot of retail space.

Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich ranked seventh with US$895 (AU$1,163), while The Ginza in Tokyo is tied with Myeongdong in Seoul with US$882 (AU$1,147) rate. Vienna’s Kohlmarkt made it to the Top 10 list with US$478 (AU$621) rate.

The Pitt Street Mall spans 200 metres of commercial space between Market Street and King Street within Sydney Central Business District. Lease rates along the Pitt Street Mall have recorded the highest across Australia. (Read: Australian consumer confidence dips 3% to 99.1 in July over close election & Brexit)

Redeveloped between 2010 and 2011, the Pitt Street Mall is host to over 400 boutiques and specialty stores as well as international and local brands.

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