Demand for houses is so strong that Mirvac can raise prices faster than shortages of timber frames and reinforced steel are pushing up its costs, while a looming shortfall in apartment completions also creates scope for further increases in attached home prices.

The diversified developer painted a bullish picture of the housing development market on Thursday, reaffirming its distribution guidance of 15¢ per security for the current year as strong residential and commercial businesses offset pandemic-related weakness in its retail property portfolio.