How to attract investments into real estate sector —Experts

It is no longer news that the real estate sector expanded by 3.85 per cent in second quarter 2021 (Q2’21) from 1.77 per cent in Q1’21.

Nigerian Tribune also gathered that the improvement in activities of the sector was partly driven by increased investments as interest rates declined, while vacancy factor was down to 20 per cent in Q3’21 from 25 per cent in Q2’21.

However, to further attract investments into the sector in the coming years, some experts in the sector have enumerated some of challenges that needed urgent interventions to stimulate growth in the Nigerian real estate industry

According to the Principal Partner, Ubosi Eleh and Co, Mr Chudi Ubosi, a real estate consultant, the sector required the attention of the government to create an enabling environment for practitioners and investors to promote economic growth.

Besides, he pointed out that infrastructural development, stronger institutions, finance availability, good land reforms and land’s laws would help in attracting investments into the real estate sector.

Delta-based estate surveyor and valuer, Mr Lewis Afolabi, stated that government should make land titling and building plans approval less-cumbersome to drive investments in the sector.

“The process of title perfection and getting building approvals is shrouded with hectic frustration in most states of Nigeria,” he said.

According to him, government must work towards creating a conducive, peaceful and more secure environment for real estate investments to thrive, describing the rise in insecurity and rent seeking attitude of communities’ leaders and youths in some parts of the country as “discouragements to real estate investments.”

Afolabi, who is also the General Secretary of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, Delta State Chapter, wants banks’ policies on credit facilities to be designed to favour borrowing for real estate’s investment, saying that a situation where borrowing from banks does not encourage long term loans is suicidal to real estate investment.

To attract investments into real estate, Lagos based estate management professional, Pastor Stephen Jagun, urged the government to show interest in the sector and encourage research into homegrown building materials.

“Government must encourage the country to give a single-digit mortgage. There is no living research into Nigeria’s homegrown building materials except sand and water. The more naira losses it values and people import, the more the cost of real estate,” he said.

Chairman, HOB Housing Estates, Olusegun Bamgbade, stated that the only way to drive more attention to real estate in the country was to urgently address the insecurity in the country.

“There is a need to call a spade a spade, especially as it affects the security of lives and properties of the citizens. Secure the country; protect the people; arrest the criminals; destroy the terrorists.

“Don’t shield the kidnappers. Wipe out the miscreants masquerading as Fulani herdsmen, who are in actual fact- warmongers.”

According to him, when the security of lives and properties are held paramount by the concerned authorities, real estate investment would come back to life.