Colliers SVP Ross Moore, who directs the company's market and economic research unit, tells GlobeSt.com that high-end retail rents are continuing to rise because the luxury market has been relatively unaffected by a general slowdown in retail sales and because there is growing competition from primarily up-market retailers looking to expand from malls and gain a street front presence in key locations. "The two trends are coming together, and driving up rents," Moore says.

Los Angeles' Rodeo Drive overtook Kalakaua Avenue in Hawaii to take third place with an average asking rent of $480 per sf, an increase of $120 per sf from this time last year, according to the survey. Other cities to register increases were Chicago's North Michigan Avenue, up $5 per sf to $250 per sf, Miami's Lincoln Road, up $10 per sf to $120 per sf, and Philadelphia's Walnut Street, up $20 per sf to $120 per sf.

Moore says its no coincidence that the six highest rents are all found in top tier tourist destinations. That bodes well for continued near-term performance given the US dollar's current weakness against the British Pound, the Euro and the Loonie, the popular term for the Canadian dollar.