Analysis at the market level reveals a wider range of rental trajectories. After several years of rapid growth, rents in the U.S. accelerated more modestly over the past year, averaging 2.5%. While New York’s Upper 5th Avenue remained flat over the year, the neighbouring locations of Madison Avenue and Soho both recorded growth of over 8%. These locations are both vibrant hubs within the city and attract significant foot traffic but at 30% to 50% rent discounts to Upper 5th, thereby offering an attractive value proposition. Double-digit rental growth was recorded in Georgetown in Washington, DC, Worth Avenue in Palm Beach and Las Olas in Fort Lauderdale, albeit all off considerably lower bases. Both Seattle and Chicago have recently encountered economic headwinds through softer growth and rising unemployment which is reflected in rents softening by approximately 13% over the past year. Shifting focus to Canada, rents have been volatile over the past few years, which is still evident in recent trends. After most locations posted rental declines in 2024, the tide has turned and rents across Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver all moved into positive territory. The turnaround was especially pronounced for Robson Street in Vancouver which moved from a 25% decline in 2024 to a 20% increase in 2025 as the impacts of tight vacancy have taken effect. As a whole, Europe has continued to demonstrate ongoing strong and steady rental growth, with many markets leading this year’s global growth figures (Figure 1). Budapest has been a standout performer over recent years, and this year is no different. In a notable change, Fashion Street has overtaken Váci utca as the city’s premier retail strip, as rents have increased by over 30%. Such a trajectory reflects the considerable investment into the area.
FIGURE 1: RENTAL GROWTH YOY BY MARKET (Q3 2024 – Q3 2025) 1
Chinese mainland Hong Kong, China Vietnam Mexico Luxembourg
Slovakia Slovenia Finland
Türkiye Ireland Macedonia Netherlands
Belgium Sweden
Malaysia Lithuania Cyprus U.S. South Korea Thailand Singapore France Australia Austria Philippines Denmark Croatia Germany Latvia Serbia Switzerland
Poland Greece Bulgaria India Czech Republic Portugal Indonesia
Brazil Hungary Romania Argentina United Arab Emirates Estonia Japan Norway United Kingdom Canada Italy Spain
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Source: Cushman & Wakefield
1 Average rent growth is presented for markets with multiple retail locations used in the analysis
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CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
MAIN STREETS ACROSS THE WORLD 2025
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