香港中环：荣登“全球租金最昂贵商业街”桂冠，压倒纽约第五大道

著名的纽约第五大道，成为了世界上最高档商业街。但是，中国大陆地区的大量游客，以及全球品牌租金之间的价格战，很快推动了香港中心地区的租价超过了美国最贵的商业街。

根据美国有线电视新闻网的伊诺森西奥的报告，高力预测，到2014年，香港中环地带的零售空间租金将会超过每平方英尺2600美元，而纽约第五大道目前的平均价格约为每平方英尺1800美元，零售商们一直在争夺这个密集区域的商铺。

我们在香港的居民已经习惯了目不转睛地看这些天价的租金。我的一个开餐馆的朋友，在中央区看到租金在过去三年上涨了三倍。一位教练续约旗舰店的租金，现在是每月一百万美元。西班牙服装店Zara以双倍租金接管了瑞典H&M的商铺，每月150美元。

根据这份报告，租金大战使得中国内地客户进入香港。

按照这个速度，香港将很快成为最贵的商业街。但是，值得吗？未来，租金价格继续飙升，还是会有一个大的崩溃到来呢？

The glitz and prestige of New York’s 5th Avenue makes it one of the most famous streets on the planet. But a torrent of mainland China visitors and a rental war among global brands will soon push the property prices in Hong Kong’s Central district higher than New York’s most expensive address.

As CNN’s Ramy Inocencio reports, Colliers predicts that by 2014, the average retail space in Hong Kong’s Central district (pictured above, left) will eclipse the $2,600 square foot price of New York’s 5th Avenue (pictured above, right). Presently, the average price is about $1,800 per square foot in Central, but prices have been zooming higher as retail brands jostle for prime real estate in this tightly packed territory.

We residents in Hong Kong have become accustomed to the blink-and-it’s-gone lifespan of businesses getting edged out of retail spaces by sky-high rents. A friend of mine who is a restaurateur in Central’s Soho district has seen his rent double in the past three years. Coach just re-signed its lease on its flagship store here in Hong Kong for triple its original rent – now paying nearly $1 million a month.  Spanish clothier Zara is taking over the property now rented by Swedish competitor H&M by offering double the amount of rent to $1.5 million a month.

As Ramy reports, the prize in this rental arms race is mainland Chinese customers who stream into Hong Kong.

At this rate, Hong Kong will soon have the priciest real estate on the planet. But is it worth it? Will the rental rates continue skyward, or is a crash coming?

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