Spring 2006 Retail Report

The average asking rent per square foot (psf) for all Manhattan retail space rose 4.9% from last year to $108.Average asking rents psf for ground floor space in the major Manhattan corridors increased 18.8 % to $329, from our report last spring. The East Side reported the highest average asking rent psf of $178. Midtown was next with $138 psf. Both were an increase compared to last year. Midtown South posted the largest percentage increase in average asking rent psf of 16.4%, followed by the East Side at 11.3% and Downtown at 9.8%. Average asking ground floor rent psf in each of the fourteen major corridors surveyed showed a percentage increase, ranging from 4.4% to 85.9%, compared to last year. The asking ground floor rent psf in the Midtown major corridors increased 37.2% to $538; on the East Side, the ground floor rent on the major corridors increased 26.7% to $564 psf. Madison Avenue (57th to 72nd St) recorded the highest average ground-floor price of $902, followed by Fifth Avenue (49th to 59th St.) at $844.Forty-second Street (6th to 8th Ave) had the highest percentage increase for ground floor asking rent psf of 85.9%, the next highest was 57th Street (Fifth to Park Avenue) at 56.2%.