Hong Kong Has 3 of World's 10 Priciest Streets

Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay trails only Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue in a list of the world’s most expensive shopping boulevards, according to a survey of asking prices for commercial space as compiled by the Cushman and Wakefield real estate brokerage.

Fifth Avenue remains tops the list for the 10th year in a row with rents going for $2,250 per square foot, up a whopping 21.6 percent over 2010. A big part of the upward pressure comes from the recent success of a new Abercrombie & Fitch store, prompting other global chains to open their own outlets on New York’s most opulent shopping area.

“You’ve got the variety of Uniqlo fast fashion from Japan, you’ve got Swatch from Switzerland, and then Zara will be going in the space that was the former NBA store,” said Cushman’s Matthew Winn.

Hong Kong claims the second, third and fourth spots: the densely packed Causeway Bay ($1,943 per square foot) shopping district; the Central District ($1,619) in the heart of the city’s financial area and Tsim Sha Tsui, the entertainment and shopping district ($1,377) on the Kowloon side.

Tokyo’s opulent old-line Ginza came in sixth place at $1,044, just behind New York’s up-and-coming 57th Street ($1,200).

Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall ($995), Australia’s busiest shopping street, edged out Paris’s timeless Champs Elysée ($992).

Tokyo’s hip, leafy Omotesando came in 9th place at $960 while London’s fashionable New Bond Street slipped a couple notches to the 10th spot at $930.