In this articleKLCFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTA Fortec adaptive reuse project in Barrington, Illinois.Courtesy: FortecA version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.Rising demand from parents for early education is causing a boom in a small but fast-growing subsector of commercial real estate. The sector is so undersupplied that it’s increasingly attractive to both developers and investors. The U.S. child-care market is currently valued at $65.2 billion and is projected to grow to $109.9 billion by 2033, according to a report from CRE brokerage B+E, citing data from Grand View Research. The surge is being driven by return-to-office trends for parents, advancements in educational technologies, and increased government funding — particularly for single and working mothers. And real estate is a huge part of the story.Since the end of 2024, the number of early education properties available for sale has grown by 14%, reaching a total of 158, according to B+E, which specializes in net leasing. While some operators own their facilities, a significant number of centers, especially large national chains like KinderCare and The Learning Experience use net lease structures, in which tenants are responsible for property expenses like taxes, insurance and maintenanceThe number of available properties with more than 10 years remaining on their lease terms increased by 12% in 2025, according to B+E. “This is the stuff that banks love to lend on,” said Camille Renshaw, CEO of B+E. “It shows you that the vast majority of stuff coming on the market is developers finally getting a new tenant. That is coming to the market for investors and is very exciting.”During the pandemic, a lot of families moved to more rural areas, where there are fewer child-care facilities. Developers are looking to capitalize on these so-called child-care deserts. Get Property Play directly to your inboxCNBC’s Property Play with Diana Olick covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, delivered weekly to your inbox.Subscribe here to get access today.Fortec, a national developer specializing in early childhood education projects, just announced a partnership with Equiturn, a global financial advisory firm, to launch a $100 million early education real estate fund. “The first thing that we want to do with this fund is to institutionalize this sector,” said Pablo Barreiro, chairman of Fortec. “A lot of people that invest in triple net [a type of net lease], in a lot of real estate, they’ve never heard about this sector, an …
