Mirvac secures 3,375 residential sales, its highest level since 2016
Property developer Mirvac has reported the highest number of residential sales since fiscal 2016.
It saw an 83% increase in residential sales, the strongest in five years.
It has $1.2 billion in residential pre-sales.
"Momentum in the market and high-quality apartment releases has driven a 25% increase in pre-sales to $1.2bn, from $971m, in FY20," the Mirvac updated noted adding that master planned community pre-sales had increased 100% from FY20.
Over 98% of exchanges in FY21 were domestic buyers with continued demand from owner-occupiers.
Mirvac saw 2,526 residential settlements over the past year, up on its prior guidance of 2,200. Just over 1,000 were in Victoria.
The annual report highlighted 71 percent of its Quay Waterfront project in Brisbane had been pre-sold.
Mirvac, which received over 20 awards recognising its design and build quality, advised there had been a 70% reduction in completed unsold apartment stock and completion of projects at Marrick & CoW, Crest, NSW and Leighton Beach, WA.
“We see very strong continued momentum in the residential property market,” Lloyd-Hurwitz said as Mirvac posted an annual statutory profit jump of 61 per cent to $901 million and its operating profit slip by 9 per cent to $550 million.
“The group has shown great resilience in the face of the ongoing uncertainty and disruption caused by the pandemic and we are currently well placed to continue to build towards recovery in fiscal 2022,” she said.
But Mirvac chief executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said the company was bracing for market conditions to moderate.
Mirvac has extended its development pipeline to about $28 billion, across its traditional mixed use, office, industrial and residential markets.
It intends to build to rent projects pipeline to about $1.4bn across four projects.
Build to Rent currently represents 3% of Mirvac’s property portfolio, with its flagship build to rent property, LIV Indigo, Sydney Olympic Park 80 percent leased after opening in September 2020.
“Our full year guidance is based on the assumption that business conditions will normalise in the last quarter of calendar 2021 when vaccination targets are expected to be met,” Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said.
“While fiscal 2021 has been characterised by extended lockdowns and restrictions, vaccine supply is improving and vaccine coverage is increasing daily. I am confident this, along with other mechanisms such as a vaccine passport and Rapid Antigen Testing, will enable Australia to open up again safely, providing a pathway towards recovery in fiscal 2022,” she said.
The report noted apartment settlement defaults stood at 2.7% "due to market factors exacerbated by COVID-19 impacts, however it was less than 1% excluding Pavilions, Sydney settlements.