Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall still Australia’s third most expensive main street but rents plunge

Brisbane’s leading retail strip has suffered over the past three years with average rents plunging as Covid kept shoppers and workers away.

The Queen Street Mall remains Australia’s third most expensive main street despite average retail rental values plunging over the past three years as tourists and workers stayed home and shoppers went online, according to a survey.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Main Streets Across the World report places Queens St in 26th place in the Asian Pacific region with average rents at €1952/sq m or $A3013/sq m which was 29 per cent less than pre-Covid three years ago.

Lockdowns and the desire to work-from-home has seen tourists and workers stay out of the Brisbane CBD since the Covid pandemic emerged in early 2020.

Robert Travers, head of EMEA Retail at Cushman & Wakefield said the industry has been through one of the biggest stress tests imaginable over the past few years.

“While we now face new economic challenges, the conversation has shifted from pessimism to retail´s omnichannel evolution,” he said.

“Many brands are playing the long game and seeking to secure prime opportunities to adapt to ever- demanding customer needs. With further investment in high-quality in-store experiences and advances in omnichannel approaches, we are confident in the resilience of the sector.”

Life returning to normal in the Queen Street Mall post pandemic.

Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall was ranked 5th in the Asia Pacific with rents at €7624/sq m or $A11,770/sq m and Melbourne’s Bourke St was ranked 16th in the region with €3355/sq m or $5180/sq m. Over the past three years fell respectively 24 per cent and 21 per cent.

The Property Council’s latest Office Occupancy Survey revealed Brisbane’s office occupancy had risen from 57 per cent in August to 70 per cent in September, its highest rate since June 2021.

Cushman & Wakefield Asia Pacific Head of Insight and Analysis Dominic Brown said tighter closure of international borders had a more severe impact on Asia Pacific’s luxury retail strips than elsewhere in the world, as seen by the steeper decline and softer rebound in regional rents.

“While many markets have now either fully or partly reopened their borders, international tourism in the region is still down 75 per cent on 2019 levels compared to the global average of 28 per cent and just 16 per cent in Europe.”

“That being said, domestic consumption has rebounded strongly, with practically all Asia Pacific markets recording retail sales higher than prior to the pandemic.

“We also know that e-commerce sales have slowed over the past year as customers have returned to physical stores.”