Singapore's Orchard Road amongst 30 most expensive retail streets

Prime retail space averaged at US$355.39 per sq ft.

Singapore ranked 27th worldwide, with rents of prime retail space along Orchard Road averaging at US$355.39 per sq ft per year.

The gross rents of prime ground floor retail space in Orchard Road slipped by four per cent in 1Q 2013 over the same quarter in the previous year. The dip was because some older malls in Orchard Road have yet to undergo upgrading or any form of refurbishment, as well as increasing competition from sub-urban malls. 

Nonetheless, average rents of prime ground floor retail spaces in Orchard Road remained 10.1 per cent higher than those in the Regional Centres.

On a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, as of the end of September 2013, the average monthly gross rents of prime retail space in Orchard Road stood at S$36.38 per sq ft (US$28.99* per sq ft), while those in the Regional Centres were S$33.46 per sq ft (US$26.67 per sq ft). 

Going forward, shopping malls in Orchard Road and the Regional Centres are expected to still maintain tight occupancy rates, as retailers who are looking for expansion and new-to-Singapore brands continue to make inroads into the city to capitalise on its fast growing international profile.

Fifth Avenue in New York remained as the world’s most expensive retail street commanding a whopping high rent of US$3,052 per sq ft per year. Queen’s Road Central and Canton Road in Hong Kong took the second and third positions, fetching rents at US$2,086.73 per sq ft per year and US$1,993.98 per sq ft per year, respectively.