Expensive retail stores on shopping streets are often the major thoroughfares of a city and are looked upon as a symbol of wealth. The prices for retail space in some of the most expensive streets in the world can often soar to ridiculous levels. In such a competition of exorbitant prices, one has to ask what is the most expensive shopping street in the world?

New York’s Fifth Avenue has retained the number one position as the world’s most expensive shopping street, according to Main Streets Across the World 2006, an annual report by the real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. An average 1,000 sq ft (93 sq m) location on Fifth Avenue, at the most expensive stretch near the intersection with 57th Street, now costs around 1.35 million USD per year.

The trendy Abercrombie & Fitch flagship at 56th Street and Nokia’s flagship on East 57th Street, which follows Apple Computer’s success at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, as consumers continue to pursue advances in technology and communication, are among this year’s most high-profile openings on Fifth Avenue.

Top 5 Most Expensive Shopping Streets

1. 5th Avenue, New York, USA
2. Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
3. Avenue des Champs Elysées, Paris, France
4. New Bond Street, London, UK
5. Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

Source: Cushman & Wakefield

Main Streets Across the World 2006 tracks retail rents in the world’s 233 most expensive shopping locations across 47 countries around the world. The report’s global league table is drawn up by taking the most expensive shopping street in each of the countries monitored. On a regional basis, Asia Pacific has seen the highest rental increases in local currency terms; rents are up 20 per cent in the year to June 2006.

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