RENTS ON DUBLIN'S Grafton Street have fallen heavily according to the latest study of rents on main streets across the world. For many years one of the most expensive retail locations internationally, Dublin's premier high street has slipped in the past year from eighth position to 13th in the world.

Rents dropped by 25.8 per cent in the year to June, and are still falling. Retail agents believe this is because of a reduced demand for shops by overseas traders and a fall-off in consumer spending.

The findings by Lisney and their international alliance partner Cushman & Wakefield may also reflect a sharp decline in the capital value of stores on Grafton Street following the Government's decision to ban upwards-only rent reviews in new leases. The policy change is likely to have a long-term effect on pension funds.

Retail director at Lisney, Hugh Markey said they had anticipated an even greater decline in rankings. However, other retail locations have also experienced falls. On Avenue de Champs-Élysées in Paris rents fell by 9.5 per cent last year, while rents in Europe as a whole were down by 4.5 per cent.

In spite of the overall falls in Europe, many of the world's top retail locations remained resilient. Latin America and Asia Pacific experienced the most positive rental growth. More than two-thirds of the 59 countries surveyed reported prime rents rising or remaining static. The findings offered a brighter outlook than those of 2009, which revealed the biggest global fall in rents in the 25-year history of the study.

New York's Fifth Avenue, where rents increased by 8.8 per cent in the 12 months to June, kept its spot as the world's most expensive retail address. Causeway Bay in Hong Kong remained at second place. London's New Bond Street bucked the trend in Europe and leapt two rankings to overtake Avenue des Champs-Élysées as the most expensive location in Europe.

Of all the locations monitored, New Bond Street showed the biggest increase in the study, at 19.4 per cent.