Queensland centre changes hands after just six days on the market

Investors are lying in wait for premium childcare centres, with a Brisbane property snapped up a month ahead of its auction date and just days after being put on the market.

The childcare centre at McDowall, 9km north of the Brisbane CBD, sold this week for $4.545 million – more than $400,000 above its proposed reserve price – making it the latest in a series of exceptionally strong childcare sales results nation-wide.

The property at 1035 Rode Rd was slated to be put on the block at Burgess Rawson’s next Investment Portfolio Auction on August 7, but the vendor was swayed after multiple pre-auction offers flooded in.

A New South Wales based investor was the successful purchaser, with the sale price reflecting a yield of 5.5%.

The centre officially changed hands only six days after it was listed online.

Leased to Only About Children – considered Australia’s premiere early education provider – the property currently returns $250,000 net per annum plus GST, on a 15-year lease to December 2033 and with two additional 10-year options.

Only About Children offers facilities and programs not seen in most other childcare centres, with a holistic approach that includes language and music classes, excursions, speech pathology and occupational therapy.

Burgess Rawson childcare specialist Natalie Couper said the sale was another huge vote of confidence in the rapidly improving childcare market.

“We received an offer that was too good for the vendor to pass up. It well and truly surpassed their expectations,” Couper said.

“We, along with the vendor, expected a yield in the sub-6% range, in line with a number of other high-performing Queensland childcare centres sold over the last 12 months, but this result surpasses all of them.”

“The tenant is simply amazing, and couple that with an exceptional site and it’s an opportunity that the buyer simply didn’t want to risk missing out on at auction.”

The McDowall property occupies a strategic 2007sqm main road site opposite the local primary school, and enjoys a favourable city-bound position.

Meanwhile, another high profile childcare centre in the Adelaide suburb of Mount Barker is to be sold at the August 7 Portfolio Auction at Crown Casino.