Oliver's Twist | Causeway Bay rents continue to outpace New York's Fifth Avenue

For the second year running, Causeway Bay ranks as the world’s most expensive retail hub, outpacing New York’s Fifth Avenue by a widening margin, according to data released by Cushman & Wakefield.

Average prime rents in Causeway Bay jumped 14.7 per cent for the year to just above US$3,000 per square foot on an annual basis. The level is a record for the district, and sees Hong Kong extend its lead over Fifth Avenue, where rents were little changed at US$2,500 per sq ft, according to C&W’s survey Main Streets Across the World. Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris ranked third at US$1,601 per sq ft.

Holding on to the crown as costliest shopping district for an extended period – as New York did for 11 years before ceding the No 1 spot to Hong Kong – might prove difficult for landlords. It’s likely that rents won’t grow quite so quickly in the immediate future amid what’s seen by some as the twilight of the mainland tourism boom.

Last year, HSBC calculated that 2.7 million visitors from mainland China streamed across the border on average each month from January to September. They accounted for US$1 in every US$4 exchanged at retail locations.

Visitors from the mainland made up nearly three-quarters of total arrivals in Hong Kong last year. This year their impact on the local economy is expected to be even larger with arrivals from China forecast to reach 38.01 million.

But recently, the focus has shifted to revelations of cooling growth.