WELL-CAPITALISED listed residential developers are set for a bumper year, having already taken deposits for more than $3 billion in sales.

The aftermath of the credit crisis has spawned an unusual opportunity for the recapitalised listed companies as smaller, under-capitalised developers struggle to get finance for projects.

UBS head of real estate John Freedman said the chance would remain as long as bank financing was constrained for developers.

He said the large listed companies were funding projects from their own balance sheets.

Smaller developers, who relied on bank financing, were expected to pre-sell 50-70 per cent of a project before their banks would fund the development.

“The overall market may have slowed but the market share of the larger players has picked up, enabling them to post solid growth,” he said.

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Mr Freedman looked at the five larger listed property groups with residential development operations and found they had already chalked up an 82 per cent lift in the value of pre-sales.

In terms of lots of land, the volume was 88 per cent higher than a year ago, he said.

“This tells us that demand is very strong. Yet in the wider market, we are seeing housing starts fall and housing finance slowing down,” Mr Freedman said.

While he expected listed property developers to meet their guidance for 2010-11 “comfortably”, he did not expect significant upgrading of earnings.

Mr Freedman said some of the deposits taken this year would not settle until next financial year.

The biggest risk would be rain delays in getting projects to the market.

Mirvac entered the 2010-11 financial year with deposits for contracts totalling $802 million.

“By August this year, Mirvac had already pre-sold 61 per cent of our estimates,” Mr Freedman said.

The company had sold 70 per cent of its target for the year in November.

Stockland, which plans to eventually exit high-rise apartments, had signed up pre-sales of 539 apartments — up 157 per cent over the previous year. But Mr Freedman said most of their pre-sold apartments would have settled by now.

Its major project was The Hyde in Sydney, now complete. But more relevant for Stockland was sales in land.

The value of contracts exchanged in its communities division rose 135 per cent to $481m for 2249 lots.

By February, Stockland would have already met its sales target for the year, Mr Freedman said.

Australand’s pre-sales rose 201 per cent to 829 lots by June 30, 2010.

A spokeswoman said that by the third quarter, Australand had signed almost 1200 contracts.

She said this was a substantial increase, considering that the typical number of contracts signed in a year was about 300.

Lend Lease has chalked up pre-sales totalling $673m.

In fact, the company’s financial year began with 167 per cent higher apartment pre-sales than a year ago.

Hugh Martin, executive director of Vivas Lend Lease — the group’s apartment business — said the company was currently developing 7000 apartments in several projects, including the final phase of Jacksons Landing in Sydney’s inner west.

Mr Martin said demand had been strong in all its projects.

For instance, when it released 140 apartments for sale in Victoria Harbour in Melbourne, 105 apartments were sold in a short period.