Beirut ranks as 33rd most expensive retail rent in world, second highest in Middle East
Lebanon bags four of region’s ten most exclusive retail locations

A survey of the world’s most expensive retail rental locations has ranked Beirut as the 33rd most expensive city worldwide. The 2009 survey of 60 cities around the world by property consultants Cushman & Wakefield found Beirut to be the second most expensive of 12 cities in the Middle East and Africa region, and the most expensive of 10 Arab cities included in the rankings, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

In a previous survey Beirut ranked as the 43rd most expensive city globally and the third most expensive in the Middle East and Africa.

The study evaluates retail rent location prices in 274 streets in 60 countries around the world.

The rent of retail space in Beirut was less costly than in Stockholm, Luxembourg and Helsinki and more expensive than in Budapest, Caracas, and Taipei in Taiwan. The most expensive rental retail location in Beirut was the Beirut Central District at $1,800, per-square-meter in 2009, which is significantly lower than the global average of $2,400 and higher than the Middle East and Africa average of $995.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, Beirut’s retail market has enjoyed a period of steady expansion, which has put rents under upward pressure. It said the prime locations remain the ABC Center, City Mall and Verdun, all of which are showing rental values of around $1,400 per-square-meter a year.

It noted, however, that the Souks shopping center in the Beirut Central District, which opened earlier this month, may yet set higher benchmark rents.

Cushman & Wakefield said Lebanon posted one of the best performances in the Middle East and Africa, with retail rents rising by 26 percent annually, second only to Bahrain which posted a 50 percent rise, and compared to a marginal increase of 0.8 percent for the region.

It said Lebanon was one of just 12 countries worldwide that posted rental growth in the first half of 2009. Lebanon accounted for four of the top 10 rental locations in the Middle East and Africa, with the Beirut Central District ranking in second place in the region and in first place among Arab markets.

It was followed in fourth place by the ABC Center in Achrafieh at $1,470 per-square-meter, Verdun Street in 5th place at $1,364, and Kaslik Street in 7th place at $1,260.

Five locations in Lebanon ranked among the top 10 locations in the region for fastest rental growth.

The Beirut Central District posted the strongest growth in the region with an 80 percent rise in rent in the 12 months ending June 2009.

Kaslik posted the third highest rental growth at 20 percent, Hamra Street registered the fourth highest rental growth at 13.3 percent, the ABC Center came in fifth place with a 12 percent growth, and Verdun Street in sixth place with an 8.3 percent growth in rents. New York’s Fifth Avenue is the world’s most expensive retail location at $19,200 per-square-meter a year.

– The Daily Star