A recent study by the global commercial real estate service Cushman & Wakefield has revealed that Via Monte Napoleone in Milan has surpassed New York and London as the most expensive shopping street in the world. Athens, on the other hand, remains steadily in 15th place, with annual rent reaching 3,480 euros per square meter.
Athens Ermou Street, located in the city’s historical center, maintains its 15th position on the list for another year, unchanged from 2023, with no increase in rental prices over the past year.
The highest rents that landlords can charge luxury retail tenants on this Milanese street have increased by 11% over the past year, reaching 20,000 euros per square meter annually. This makes it the highest base rent for retail properties in any of the 138 global retail destinations tracked by Cushman & Wakefield.
This marks the first time in 34 years that a European city has topped the list. Milan benefits from tax relief programs that attract ultra-wealthy individuals, an influx of affluent tourists, and fierce competition among luxury brands for prime locations.
According to Cushman & Wakefield, New York’s Fifth Avenue, which was previously the most expensive shopping street, saw its rental growth stagnate in 2024. New York rebounded quickly from the pandemic in 2022 but has since grown more slowly.
Annual rent is estimated at 3,480 euros per square meter. According to data from Cushman & Wakefield Proprius for the first quarter of 2024, the prime rent on Ermou Street is 290 euros per square meter, with a prime yield of 5.25% annually.
In Athens, following Ermou Street is the southern suburb of Glyfada and Tsimiski Street in Thessaloniki, with 150 euros per square meter, with highest increase in prime yield, at 6.5%, having been observed in the Athens suburb of Kifisia, in the port of Piraeus, the city of Patras in western Greece, and Heraklion on Crete.
Market experts note that other streets in Athens’ city center, such as Stadiou, the beginning of Panepistimiou, Omonia Square, and Plaka, are re-entering the list of the most commercially significant streets with rising rents.
