Kunle Faleti is a housing finance professional. In this interview with DAYO AYEYEMI, the real estate expert gave some suggestions on what the government needs to do to improve the real estate sector in 2022.
How Nigeria’s government can enhance home ownership among Nigerians in 2022?
Government should continue its efforts towards creating an enabling environment for the private sector and direct foreign investments into the sector. Such initiatives include improving upon the ease of doing business; promoting tax breaks on importation of housing related construction/ building materials; implementing in full existing interventions on housing finance such as the Nigerian Housing Finance Program and Family Homes Funds.
How do we solve some of the issues confronting the real estate sector, especially in getting affordable finance for housing development?
There is no one cap that fits all solutions. It will require a combination of efforts and collaboration among stakeholders. This will take some time before the impact is felt. The liquidity fund that saw to the emergence/creation of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) is still struggling because not all the components are fully implemented. The other three components (Mortgage Guarantee Insurance, Housing Micro-Finance and Technical Assistance) are yet to be fully implemented. If all the four are operating simultaneously, we will have single digit interest rates on home loans.
Is it possible to enhance affordable housing delivery without passing into laws some of the pending housing bills in the National Assembly?
Yes it is possible! People (policy makers, stakeholders and operators) are lazy and don’t want to think outside the box. There is no will or drive to succeed. India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jordan experienced and are still experiencing similar challenges as Nigeria, but they have been able to find a way out while waiting for laws and ordinances to be passed or amended.
Building materials’ prices are no longer friendly to developers and home builders. How can we address this?
The question is why relying on imported materials? The country must invest in and fund research for locally produced building materials. As a matter of policy, it can introduce high taxes to discourage importation of luxury items. Our universities and other higher institutions of learning should collaborate with government owned research institutions and professional associations such as the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NIBBRI), Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and Nigerian Society of Engineers, etc to develop local content.
High population and rapid urbanisation without corresponding infrastructure are other problems. What is your suggestion?
Infrastructure planning and funding cannot be done at the federal level. In developed economies local governments (councils and counties) are primarily responsible for planning infrastructure. Nigeria has not had a census population count in decades, how then can it plan for infrastructure? You must have a head count before you can plan for infrastructure.
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