Finbar’s record presales put a $1.7 billion Perth pipeline in focus

Record Presales Anchor Finbar’s AGM Presentation

Finbar Group Limited (ASX:FRI) used its annual meeting to put a sizeable number on the Perth apartment cycle: FY26 presales reached a record $567 million, while value sold to date reached $528.8 million, up 124% on the previous year. Settlements totalled $263.7 million for the year ended 30 June 2026.

The company’s presentation also pointed to $395 million of presales and $74.4 million of sales in FY27 to 31 October, with $231.7 million settled during the new financial year. Those figures are presented at different reporting dates and are not a forecast of full-year results, but they indicate the volume of contracted and completed activity Finbar is carrying into FY27.

Garden Towers Settlements Move Into FY27

“Progress construction of Riverbank Residences in line with the program for completion in H1 FY28.”

Garden Towers in East Perth was completed in October, with 87% of units settled as at the presentation date. That progress builds on the project’s debt repayment and settlements, which had left the completed stock debt-free after $170.5 million in sales settled.

Finbar said Bel-Air was more than 96% settled, while construction projects at Riverbank Residences, Palmyra West and Romeo Applecross remained central to the delivery schedule. Romeo was 67% sold when construction commenced, and its project value was listed at $192 million. The project had previously moved into construction after securing 103 sales worth A$121.1 million.

Pipeline Exceeds $1.7 Billion Across Perth

“81 completed projects 7,945 units”

Finbar’s development pipeline exceeds $1.7 billion and spans more than 1,600 units, according to the presentation. Projects listed in the pipeline include developments at Ascot, Rivervale, West Leederville and South Perth, with indicative completion dates running from FY28 through FY33. The figures remain subject to change, and the company’s own presentation labels the pipeline as indicative.

The company is positioning that pipeline against strong population growth and a relative affordability gap between Perth apartments and detached houses. It also acknowledged that higher borrowing costs and tighter serviceability are moderating purchasing capacity. Investors accounted for an average 53% of CY2026 sales to 31 October, while first-home buyers represented 18%; repeat and referred buyers contributed 27% and 21%, respectively.

All AGM Resolutions Pass With Strong Support

Shareholders approved the remuneration report with 98.87% of votes cast in favour and appointed Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu as external auditor following KPMG’s resignation at the meeting. John Chan, Ronald Kean Yew Chan and Melissa Siew Ching Chan were each re-elected with between 98.07% and 98.22% support.

“Construction commenced Oct 25”

The meeting also approved a $240,000 increase in the maximum annual non-executive director fee pool, taking it to $600,000 from the financial year that began on 1 July 2026. The resolution passed with 98.27% of votes cast in favour, although 113.8 million shares were recorded as abstentions. The approved ceiling is not the same as an immediate cash expense, and the presentation did not state how much of the expanded pool would be used.

Finbar enters the next reporting period with substantial settlement activity ahead, a large forward project inventory and market conditions that are supportive but not frictionless. The practical test will be whether presales convert into settlements while construction, funding costs and Perth’s moderating dwelling market remain within the company’s assumptions.