Rents on Canada's hottest retail strips keep rising

The price retailers pay to have a foothold on some of Canada's ritziest shopping strips increased last year, a major real estate consultancy says.

Every year, Colliers International ranks the world's most expensive retail strips. Once again, it found that Toronto's Bloor Street was the most expensive retail strip in the country, with retailers forking over an average of $310 US a square foot to have storefront on the busy street.

That was a 3.3 per cent gain from 2010's level. Bloor Street was the only place in Canada to crack the Top 50 in Colliers international list, coming in at 34 overall.

That was nowhere near the rents paid in the world's toniest district, New York's Fifth Ave. where retailers pay an average of $2,633 USper square footfor space. Hong Kong's Canton Rd and Queen's Rd. came in second at $1,831 US, and London's Old Bond Streetwas third at $1,602 US per foot.

Behind Bloor Street, Canada's most expensive retail district was Vancouver's Robson St., where retailers paid an average of $150 per square foot. Colliers notes that rents on Robson actually declined by 25 per cent on average this year, due to transitions of large tenants.

After Robson came Vancouver's Alberni St. at an average of $105 per square foot, followed by Montreal's Rue De La Montagne in fourth place at $80 per square foot.

At $70 per square foot, Halifax's Spring Garden Road saw a dramatic 27.3 per cent hike in lease rates last year, good enough to leapfrog it into the Top 5 most expensive districts in Canada.

"The lease rates in Canadas most sought-after retail locations say more about our cities than about the local or global economy," Colliers director James Smerdon said. "Canada continues to be a very lucrative destination for retailers, developers and investors in the high-end retail niche," Smerdon said, noting that high-end U.S. chains like Bloomingdales and Nordstrom are expected to soon set up shop in Canada.

Moving forward, the agency expects more retail strips in Western cities to get more expensive, as the region sees an influx of money and influence due to oil wealth.