Childcare is the tightest-priced commercial asset class in Australia. CBRE's March 2026 report puts passing yields at 4.00 to 6.00 per cent. Some 2025 deals in metropolitan Queensland and New South Wales sold at 3.31 per cent. Regional centres often sit above 6 per cent.
For comparison, Brisbane prime industrial trades around 6 per cent and a South Brisbane office tower recently sold near 8 per cent.
Why buyers pay so much
The lease. A typical childcare lease runs 15 to 20 years with two 10 year options. It is net, so the tenant pays the outgoings, and rent rises by CPI plus a margin each year. Government subsidies fund about two thirds of centre revenue.
Investors are paying for long, rising, net income, not for the building.
The supply risk
CBRE estimates about 30,000 new places opened in 2024-25, against base case demand growth of about 11,000 places a year. Closures run around 5,000 places a year. On those numbers, supply outpaces demand unless take-up rises.
Queensland has about 188,000 places across 1,959 centres.
What to check before you buy
Rent as a share of centre revenue. CBRE puts the normal range at 7 to 17 per cent. Above that, the rent is hard to sustain.
Occupancy. Most centres run at 80 to 90 per cent.
Places per child in the catchment, compared to the national figure of 0.47.
New centres approved or under construction within a few kilometres.
The operator: number of centres, financial strength, and any guarantee.
Make-good, capital works and who pays for compliance upgrades.
A long lease to a weak operator in an oversupplied suburb is not secure income.
We assess childcare and other long-lease assets for private investors. See our commercial buyers agent service in Brisbane.
General information only. Not financial advice. Figures from CBRE Research, Child Care Centres, March 2026.