How to attract investments to real estate sector —Experts

Governments at all levels have been urged to tackle insecurity in order to attract meaningful real estate’s investments to the country.

In addition, experts in the sector, have also tasked government on the need for development of massive infrastructure and sustained social housing policy.

Chairman, HOB Estates Limited, Chief Olusegun Bamgbade, pointed out that insecurity situation across the country has limited investment in the real estate sector.

According to him, unless something urgent is done to arrest the situation; insecurity in the country would never allow any meaningful development in the real estate sector.

He said “We have to deal with the insecurity issue in the country before we talk about real estate development.”

Former President, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria, Moses Ogunleye, said that massive infrastructure should be fully developed at both the state and national levels to attract investment

He is of the opinion that if the key national infrastructure like railway is well developed, it would spur other developments particularly real estate.

“We would have more transit oriented development around the train stations. Then investment in real estate can be in various locations, distance to principal development centres notwithstanding.

*Apart from rail, others at the level of states-water supply , road , power supply should be properly funded and provided by government” he said.

Mortgage finance expert, MrKunleFaleti, said that there must be a focused, deliberate and sustained social housing policy for all states of the federation.

“One size does not fit all, so it must not be implemented by the federal,” he said.

According to him, rising home prices, stagnating wages, demographic pressures and a lack of public investment in housing in most states have been increasingly challenging housing affordability in Nigeria.

To the US-based mortgage finance expert, social housing must be an important dimension of social welfare policy and affordable housing provision.

“There are significant differences across the states in the definition, size, scope and target population. Therefore, the type of social housing required will vary.

“For instance, social rental housing should make up more than 50 per cent  of the total dwelling stock in the country.

Social mixing should be a key objective of the social housing sector for all states,” he said.

He suggested massive investments in social housing construction and  that renovation should be a central part of a more sustainable, inclusive economic recovery, moving forward.

On whether the  lack-lustre attitude of states government towards the enactment of the Modern Mortgage Foreclosure Law (MMFL) in their respective domains could be another reason for low investment in housing in Nigeria, Faleti said that non-passage of the law  by some states has no immediate impact, arguing that the level of mortgage penetration in the country was still very low.

“What is the essence of having a law with nothing to enforce?,” he said.

He urged that the focus and efforts of government and other stakeholders should be directed towards market development.

Faleti advised that more emphasis should be placed on mortgage registration and title transfer, pointing out that this would improve default enforcement (foreclosure).

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