Finbar scoffs at apartment glut claim
Finbar says strong sales for its Aurelia housing project in South Perth prove there is no glut in the apartment market in WA.
The apartment developer said it had sold 73 apartments worth $65.7 million in the first weekend of marketing of the 21-storey mixed use development to be built at the corner of Harper Terrace and Mill Point Road.
And the company expects the remaining 45 apartments will be snapped up quickly.
Aurelia includes one, two and three bedroom apartments as well as two top-floor penthouses as well as 2292sqm of commercial tenancies.
Finbar expects to begin work on the development in June this year.
The company said 180 groups had visited its Perth sales office over the weekend and it was anticipated that the response for the balance of apartments in the 118-unit complex would be strong supplemented by interest from overseas.
Finbar managing director Darren Pateman said the apartment sector in WA had been the centre of significant media attention and commentary recently because of the state of the resources sector and fears of an oversupply from a more active property development sector.
"However, we strongly believe that the fundamentals of apartment development in Perth remain unchanged where increased demand for apartment living continues to meet new supply while gaining a larger share of the overall housing market.
"Our weekend's results demonstrate that if you have a strong reputation for delivering the right product in an excellent location at a price point that represents good value for money, it will be well supported by demand for that product," he said.
Finbar said the Aurelia sales brought total pre-sales now held across all the company's projects to more than $500 million over 720 contracts, representing a quarter of its $2 billion project pipeline.
The company said profit margins across all its projects currently under construction remained strong.
Finbar shares were off 1.5 cents, or 1.15 per cent, to $1.285 at 10.10am.
