McGrath revenue up 15 per cent, with "business turnaround expected to continue"

McGrath Estate Agency have posted a revenue rise of 15 per cent over the first half of the 2020 financial year.

Chief executive Geoff Lucas said that, subject to economic conditions, they expect the turnaround of the business to continue throughout the year.

"[This] will manifest in the FY2020 results", Lucas said.

McGrath's number of properties sold jumped from 4,862 in the first half 2019 to 5,768 in the first half 2020, up 19 per cent.

Lucas noted this was achieved "in a period where market listings have been consistently below the prior year." The average rise was four per cent across markets.

Lucas still cited the "challenging property environment".

"As the market conditions improved in Q2 of FY20, we were well placed to capitalise on these positive tailwinds", Lucas said.

“We have seen a strong start to activity in January 2020 with an increased number of vendors who have gone to market early and benefitted from strong demand and continued rising values during the last quarter of CY2019.

"We believe this will have a positive impact on vendor sentiment for the second half."

McGrath noted that an uplift in market sentiment and strong clearance rates, notwithstanding the market’s lower listing numbers has contributed to the business performing significantly better in the first half of FY20. 

Over 32 of McGrath staff who had previously left the company have returned over the last 18 months.

McGrath shares opened trading at ¢30 on Monday. They rose to ¢34 in morning trading.