While Far from Pre-COVID Level, HK Still Has APAC’s Costliest Retail Rent

Tsim Sha Tsui’s main street is the most expensive retail location in Asia-Pacific, although rents remain below their pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.

The average retail rent in TST stood at US$1,493 per square foot annually, a 39% decline from its pre-pandemic level but a 4% increase year-over-year. Rents in Causeway Bay came in second (US$1,374 sq. ft./year), followed by Ginza (US$912 sq. ft./year), Omotesando (US$798 sq. ft./year), and Pitt Street Mall (US$747 sq. ft./year).

Cushman & Wakefield said while rents are showing signs of improvement, recovery has been slow.

“As of Q2 2022, rents across both Europe and APAC were approximately 10% below their pre-pandemic levels. Over the past 12 months, the situation has improved to 2.3% and 5.1% below pre-pandemic levels respectively, reflecting rental growth in the past year. However, 70% of European markets and 51% of APAC markets still have not recovered rental declines experienced during the pandemic,” it noted.

“The situation remains most acute for Hong Kong, where rents declined by 45% at the peak of the pandemic and are still 42% below where they were prior to the pandemic.”

Globally, the average retail rent in Hong Kong is the third most expensive, after New York’s Fifth Avenue (US$2,000) and Montenapoleone (US$1,766).