Govt’s housing projects won’t achieve much without national database — NIESV

Government’s housing projects across the country will not achieve the desired result of solving Nigeria’s housing deficit without the creation of a national housing database.

This was the submission of the President of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Dr Bolarinde Patunola-Ajayi, at the National Council of the institution which held in Ibadan, over the weekend. The council meeting is preparatory to the annual national convention coming up in Ibadan, March 2018.

He said the national housing database will provide information on the housing needs of the populace and the available land, which will facilitate proper planning of housing projects.

“The database will tell you the housing needs and how to meet the needs. When we say need, some will need a one-bedroom house, others will need two- or three-bedroom depending on the size and the calibre of the prospective house owners.

“If you don’t know the housing needs and you are just saying you are providing houses for the needy with no data about how many you need to provide, you are not going to achieve much.”

He said the popular figure for housing deficit which has been around for years needs to be verified and updated to reflect current realities.

The president added that “There should be GIS surveys to identify the land available what use to put it and the suitable design and other factors that will determine the housing designs. All these data will make up the national housing database.”

Furthermore, he said that the institution was considering how to collaborate with relevant authorities to stamp out the activities of quack estate agents.

Dr Patunola-Ajayi said the cost of NIESV members’ services were not the reason housing projects were expensive. Rather, the forces of market demand and supply dictated the costs of private developers.

However, he pointed out that social housing projects was indispensable and should be instituted by governemnt to cater for the housing needs of low-income earners.