Market Overview

Retail – Charter Hall Acquisitions (Various)

Addresses:
Gympie Central, Gympie
Whitsunday Plaza, Cannonvale
Southport Park Shopping Centre, Southport

Institutional heavyweight Charter Hall is solidifying its dominance in the convenience retail sector, advancing on a $250 million acquisition of three sub-regional centres from Vicinity Centres. The portfolio includes Gympie Central (14,154 m²) and Whitsunday Plaza (22,314 m²), both high-performing assets anchored by Woolworths and Big W with moving annual turnovers exceeding $160 million each. In a separate off-market play, the fund also secured the Southport Park Shopping Centre for $152.5 million. These acquisitions underscore a strategic institutional "swap," with Vicinity recycling capital into major redevelopment projects while Charter Hall doubles down on defensive, high-frequency retail assets (Wilmot, 2025).

Retail & Automotive – Moreton Bay Dealership Portfolio

Addresses:
731-737 Deception Bay Rd, Rothwell
247-249 Morayfield Rd, Morayfield

Victorian-based Plantation Capital Limited has entered the Queensland market, acquiring two fully leased automotive assets for $26.6 million through its Strategic Opportunities Growth and Income Fund. The portfolio, occupied by Keystar Subaru, spans nearly 20,000 m² of strategic land. The Rothwell showroom transacted for $13.2 million, while the prime corner site at Morayfield fetched $13.4 million, reflecting a combined yield of 6.7%. The campaign generated 53 inquiries, validating the depth of investor appetite for secure income assets in the Moreton Bay growth corridor, which is projected to grow by nearly 70% by 2041 (Herde, 2025a).

Development – Caloundra Mixed-Use Site

Address: 139 Bulcock St & 70-76 Omrah Ave, Caloundra

A private builder-developer has purchased a prime 6,200 m² site in central Caloundra for $17 million (plus GST). The vendor, Henzell Property Group, divested the asset as part of a strategic corporate pivot away from high-rise apartments toward lower-density townhouse products. The site holds a development approval for a 30-metre high mixed-use project, with potential for up to 45 metres. The new owner has engaged OGE Group to refine the scheme, focusing on a staged delivery model that can better navigate the current construction cost environment (Herde, 2025b).

Medical & Childcare – Redbank Plains Centre

Address: 69-71 Willow Rd, Redbank Plains

In the largest childcare transaction for Queensland this year, private investors have paid $10.7 million for a newly built facility leased to Honour Early Learning. The deal reflects a tight yield of 5.35%, a testament to the premium investors are placing on essential service assets. With childcare rents in the region now exceeding $4,000 per place, the sale highlights the robust fundamentals of the western growth corridor, where population expansion is underpinning long-term demand for social infrastructure (Herde, 2025c).

Development – Bridgeman Downs Subdivision Site

Address: 260 & 280 Ridley Rd, Bridgeman Downs

Ausbuild has acquired a 2.18-hectare residential site for $15.29 million, setting a new suburb record. Purchased from Keylin Land Holdings (who acquired the lots in 2024 for $10.5m), the site is approved for a 33-lot subdivision. The transaction equates to a land rate of $758/m². This rapid capital appreciation ($4.8m uplift in one year) illustrates the fierce competition for development-ready infill land in Brisbane’s northern corridor (Herde, 2025c).

Industrial – Sumner Office/Warehouse

Address: 3 Jijaws St, Sumner

Adelaide-based investor Prosperity Property Portfolio No5 purchased this 2,626 m² facility for $5.3 million prior to auction. Occupied by Komatsu Forklift Australia, the asset sold on a notably sharp yield of 4.2%. The aggressive pricing was driven by the buyer’s recognition of significant rental reversion potential ("untapped upside"), as the passing income was identified as being well below current market rates. This deal sets a new benchmark for value-add industrial assets in Brisbane’s western corridor (Herde, 2025d).

Healthscope Asset Sell-Off: Mater in Exclusive Talks

Receivers McGrathNicol have entered the final stages of the Healthscope portfolio divestment, granting exclusive due diligence rights on four major hospital sites. For Queensland, the significant development is that the Gold Coast Private Hospital is reportedly in exclusive negotiations with Mater Health (though St John of God remains a potential contender). This follows a competitive process advised by Houlihan Lokey to recover debt owed to lenders.

Impact on Commercial Industry:

• Sector Consolidation & NFP Dominance: If Mater secures this asset, it represents a major consolidation of Queensland’s private healthcare infrastructure into the hands of a Not-For-Profit (NFP) operator. NFPs typically hold assets in perpetuity to serve community charters, meaning this prime asset will effectively be removed from the trading market forever. This contraction of tradable stock will likely increase scarcity value for remaining freehold medical assets.
• Valuation Benchmarks: The aggressive bidding war for these assets,despite the operator's financial collapse,confirms that the underlying property fundamentals of major hospitals remain "bulletproof." We can expect capitalisation rates for medical assets to remain compressed as institutional capital seeks safety in "essential services" amid broader economic volatility.

Urban Planning: Call for "Bridge Blitz" & Toowong Density

Former Government Architect Malcolm Middleton has issued a strong call for a massive infrastructure drive, advocating for 10 new pedestrian/cycle bridges to "stitch the city together." He specifically identified key links such as Toowong-to-West End and Highgate Hill-to-UQ. Crucially, Middleton also voiced strong support for the controversial $1bn "Toowong Central" project by Verso Developments, which proposes three towers up to 58 storeys.

Impact on Commercial Industry:

• Unlock Code for Density: Middleton’s commentary effectively links density to connectivity. For developers, this reinforces the "Transit-Oriented Development" strategy: sites near heavy rail (like Toowong) that can also claim cross-river connectivity will likely receive greater support for height uplifts.
• Precinct Re-Rating: If a bridge connects Toowong to West End, Toowong would effectively cease to be a "satellite" hub and become an extension of the inner-city lifestyle precinct. This would drive substantial rental growth for retail and office assets in the area, justifying the proposed high-density residential pipeline and potentially triggering a wave of site amalgamation along the riverfront.

Market Strategy: The Pivot from High-Rise to Low-Rise

A recurring theme in this week’s transaction data (specifically the Henzell Caloundra sale) is the shift in development strategy due to construction costs. Established developers are divesting sites with high-rise approvals or re-designing schemes to deliver townhouse or low-rise product instead.

Impact on Commercial Industry:

• Supply Crunch Incoming: As developers step back from delivering high-density apartment towers due to feasibility risks, we are likely to see a significant shortfall in new unit supply delivered in 2026-2027. This will exacerbate the rental crisis and likely push commercial rents for mixed-use ground-floor retail higher as available stock dwindles.
• Land Banking Value: This risk aversion is driving a premium for "manageable" subdivision sites (like the Ausbuild Bridgeman Downs purchase at a record rate) versus complex vertical construction sites. Commercial agents should note that sites with "easy" execution pathways are currently commanding higher liquidity than "trophy" sites with complex build requirements.