(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Beirut was ranked as the 37th most expensive city for retail rental locations among 65 other cities in a recent survey conducted by property consultant company Cushman & Wakefield.
Beirut was also ranked as the third most expensive city in the Middle East and Africa region, and the second most expensive out of five Arab cities included in the survey.
The study evaluated retail rental prices between September 2013 and September 2014 in 330 locations in 65 countries around the world.
The most expensive retail rental location in Beirut is the ABC Mall in Ashrafieh, at around $2,000 per sqm, 61 percent higher than the Middle East and Africa average of $1,223 per sqm.
Out of the 24 locations evaluated in the Middle East and Africa region, the survey found that the ABC Mall in Ashrafieh ranks as the fourth most expensive.
The Beirut Central District is in 14th place at $1,000 per sqm, Verdun Street in 19th place at $800 per sqm and Kaslik Street and Hamra Street in joint 20th place at $700 per sqm each.
Retail rents fell by an average of 7.1 percent in the Middle East and Africa year-on-year; rents declined in 12 of the locations surveyed, increased in three other locations and were unchanged in eight locations, while Manama did not have historical data.
Retail rents went up by an average of 2.4 percent globally, and rents rose in 139 of the 330 locations surveyed, declined in 50 others and remained stable in 138 locations, while three locations lacked historical data.
New York’s Upper 5th Avenue replaced Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive retail location, at $37,065 per sqm a year.