Practitioners in the Nigerian real estate sector are calling for collaboration among stakeholders toward harnessing huge opportunities for investments in the market to drive growth, create jobs and bridge housing gap.
The experts made the call during the hybrid second annual Wemabod Real Estate Outlook 2024, with the theme: Navigating Volatility in Real Estate Market: Opportunities and Threats.
Speaking, Chairman, Odu’a Investment Company Ltd, Bimbo Ashiru, who joined virtually, said that collaboration of all Nigerians is needed toward unlocking opportunities in the real estate sector.
Panelists and other speakers at the forum also called for collaboration, elimination of corruption, adoption of locally sourced building materials and partnerships as some measures for success.
Chairperson/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, also called for collaboration and consumption of local goods, services and technology.
She said diasporans were being advised to invest in the real estate, which is a profitable wealth management and storage opportunity.
According to her, collaboration is on with the Federal Mortgage Bank on 6.9 percent interest rate, which will begin in April, to encourage more diaspora investments in real estate.
She emphasised the need to work together, adding that Nigerians have to make the decision to change the nation by patronising made-in-Nigeria goods.
Managing Director/CEO Wemabod Ltd, Mr Oluyemi Ejidiran, said that in spite of numerous challenges facing the real estate sector, it had huge untapped opportunities.
He recalled that the Nigerian real estate market had struggled due to shortage of investment capital, limiting growth and development.
Ejidiran said there were untapped potential for domestic and foreign investors to inject capital into the market, driving growth, creating jobs and addressing the housing shortage.
To attract investors in Nigerian real estate sector, he said there is the need to address macroeconomic issues like high interest rates, inflation and the foreign exchange.
“By implementing sound fiscal and monetary policies and creating a favourable investment climate, we can attract investors and drive growth in the real estate market,” he said
He pointed out that though there were risks such as regulatory uncertainty and fluctuating property values in the market, there is also potential for growth.
According to him, leveraging innovative financing mechanisms like real estate investment trusts and mortgage-backed securities can unlock new capital sources and expand access to affordable housing.
Ejidiran added that proactiveness and vigilance could help stakeholders navigate challenges and ensure stability and growth in the sector.
The keynote speaker, Dr Biodun Adedipe, said challenges usually present opportunities which business entities must train their minds to identify and harness.
Adedipe, founder and chief consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Ltd., said the nation’s current economic realities had made situations unpredictable and, as such, difficult for entities in the real estate value chains to make right decisions.
He listed issues affecting the sector including rural-urban migration, population and insecurity, foreign exchange, inflation, among others.
He used both statistics and graphs to explain disruptions and volatility and how they affect the supply chains of inputs to housing constructions.
He said inflationary pressures and rising mortgage rates were pushing buyers’ market and stressed the need for proper exchange rate management.
He said that subsidy removal was necessary but exchange rate unification was not the way Nigeria should have gone, as such the Federal Government should retrace its steps to correct the Naira’s free fall.
The panelists included Mrs Olajumoke Akinwunmi, co-founder of Alitheia; Mr Bode Adediji, Group Executive Chairman, Bode Adediji Partnership; Dr Oseni Ezekiel, Managing Director, LEXOR Business Support Ltd: and Mr Lanre Olutimilehin, Strategic Advisor at Diya Fatimilehin & Co.
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