Delhi’s Khan Market most expensive high street for rental

Swanky malls cannot seem to take away the charm of high street shopping. And a new survey has confirmed this. Retailers in India will have to shell out more money to set up shops on high streets as rentals have gone up considerably.

And leading the pack is the up-market address of Khan Market in New Delhi. It’s supposed to be the most expensive high street location in India. This was revealed in a recent survey done by well-known real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield's titled 'Main Streets Across the World 2010'.

Every year the survey tracks the world’s top 269 shopping locations across 59 countries. And according to the latest survey, the upscale Khan Market a favorite haunt of Delhi’s crème de la crème expat crowd and bureaucrats has moved up three spots this year from 24th last year in the list of most expensive streets across the globe. The rental at Khan Market is estimated to be around $284 per sq. ft. annually. Of course, New York’s famous Fifth Avenue tops the list as the most expensive high street with rentals touching $1,850 per sq. ft. Followed by Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay and Ginza in Tokyo, Japan, at the third spot.

The report says that Khan Market, the most expensive retail destination in India, saw an increase of 15.80 per cent in rentals in 2009-10 as compared to previous year. "Most major and premium brands have shown a clear preference for that micro-market (Khan Market). Also with very little vacancy in that location, available spaces have been commanding high values," says the survey.

And Khan Market is not the only high street location to command high prices. In Mumbai, Linking Road saw a rise of 33 per cent, CG Road in Ahmedabad surged by 18.2 per cent and rentals in Pune’s posh MG Road went up by 13.6 per cent. It may be noted that in the 2009 survey, Mumbai had noted the highest fall in rental values as a result of the economic slowdown.

According to the survey, the Bandra-Khar Linking Road is among the fastest growing main streets in the world. The rental for a 1,000-sq. ft. shop in this area is Rs 66,500 a month, a 34-per cent increase from the rent of Rs 50,000 it would have fetched last year. Rentals in Colaba Causeway, another major high street in Mumbai, saw a marginal hike of 3 per cent. While monthly rent for a 1,000 sq. ft. shop in this area is Rs 36,000 compared to last year’s Rs 35,000. Rentals in two other high streets in south Mumbai, the Fort-Fountain market and Kemps Corner, remained unchanged.

Interestingly, some high street locations have also shown a dip in rentals. New Delhi’s posh Greater Kailash and South Extension markets, two of the most popular high street destination in the capital for decades, have continued to see a downward slide in rental by 10 per cent and 12 per cent respectively. But the biggest erosion of rental values across India was recorded in New Delhi’s Basant Lok. The market which till recently had flagship stores and EBOs of some of the top apparel brands has seen a rapid decline in the past one year. In fact many showrooms have relocated to a new mall that has come up near this market. The annual decline of rentals at Basant Lok has been over 38 per cent, the survey reports.