Dublin had the biggest drop in ranking from the previous quarter, to 20th from 16th, of of shop rents in the world's most expensive shopping districts. This was despite a general trend for increasing shop rents in the first quarter, defying a sustained slump in global retail markets, according to CB Richard Ellis.

Rents in Sydney and London climbed, while Paris and Hong Kong prices were little changed, the company said in a report on Friday. New York maintained its position as the most expensive city to lease retail space, with annual rents on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue rising 5.2% from the previous quarter to $1,725 per square foot. New York rents fell 4.2% from the year earlier period.

Sydney's Pitt Street Mall kept the number two spot it took in the fourth quarter of 2009, with rents at $1,155 per square foot, 85% higher than a year earlier when it was ranked the seventh most expensive area.

Rents in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui were virtually unchanged from a year ago at $974. London's Bond Street saw a 20% rise from a year earlier to $861 per square foot. Rents on Paris's Champs Elysees were unchanged from six months ago at $791. It ranked fifth, unchanged from the previous quarter.

Rents in Frankfurt, Berlin and Dublin, the bottom three of the 20 most expensive cities, were less than a quarter of those on Fifth Avenue, the broker said.

While prime space is doing well, secondary units are typically seeing higher vacancy, lower retailer demand and falling rents," Raymond Torto, CBRE's global chief economist, said in the report.

The global economy is set to expand 4.2% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, prompting financially healthy retailers to expand.

In most places, that hasn't translated into a significant recovery in retail sales because consumers remain uneasy about the economic outlook, CBRE said in the report. (Bloomberg)