City's retail rents surge to pre-9/11 levels: REBNY.

Reaching pre-9/11 levels, asking rents for retail space in Manhattan soared in the first quarter of 2004. Manhattan's 57th Street corridor showed the largest increase--up 55% from this time last year--with average asking rents on 57th Street between Fifth Avenue and Park Avenue hitting $850 per-square-foot, according to The Real Estate Board of New York's (REBNY) Spring Retail Report.

Overall, average asking rents in Manhattan for retail space rose 10% to $97 per-square-foot. Available retail space in Manhattan declined 19%, with more than 2.7 million square feet being absorbed. Downtown specifically saw available space drop 35%, demonstrating retailers' renewed interest in the area.

"This report is great news for the retail market in Manhattan," said Steven Spinola, REBNY President. "While the numbers have been slowly rising since 9/ 11, this is the first time we've seen double digit increases in asking rents in several areas for more than two years. This is surely a sign that retailers have renewed faith in Manhattan."

The Retail Report included the following findings:

* Asking rents for ground floor space in the primary retail corridors has risen 32% to $284 from a year ago.

* Asking rents for retail space on the East Side increased by 21% to $155; Midtown asking rents also increased by 12%.

* Midtown South, which includes SoHo, and the West Side both showed increases of 7%.

* The 5th Avenue corridor (49th to 59th Sts.) average asking rents increased 11% to $717 compared to Spring 2003.

* The upper end of the Madison Avenue asking rent range reached $850, a 17% increase from a year ago.

* Asking rents for retail space of 1,000 square feet or less in Manhattan rose 12%* This square foot range has the fewest number of stores available.

The Retail Report is a semi-annual, comprehensive collection of retail market data from a broad cross-section of the city's top real estate firms. The report presents data on available retail space by geographic area and focuses on the ground floor space of major retail streets.

The REBNY Retail Report is issued twice a year in the spring and fall by the REBNY Stores Committee. Findings are reviewed by an advisory group that distills and analyzes the data. The report provides comprehensive information about available retail space and asking rents in Manhattan. The report presents all available data on retail space by geographic area and focuses on the ground floor space on the major retail streets. It provides an objective and reliable source for discerning market trends.

Space information was been provided on a confidential basis by REBNY member firms.