40% of real estate business in Africa is done in Nigeria-Chapel

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Indication that the property business in Nigeria would still be lucrative despite wobbling economic indices is still high giving the pass mark it received from Mr. Herbert Chapel, a property business expert from the United Kingdom.

Chapel, who is in Nigeria to develop his property business, said that research has shown that Nigeria is the choice destination for property business in Africa. According to him, all the offices dealing with estate related businesses in the UK are having their eyes on Nigeria.

“Of course, I can tell you Nigeria controls about 40 per cent of real estate business done in Africa. Nigeria has got the population, largest economy in Africa still in need of property development to crash the deficiency in housing accommodation for the citizens. If tempo continues, a lot of thing would go in for the country Nigeria, because people who would be here for business would also bring fund and experts in various sectors and this, you know is another way of giving unsolicited training to the populace,” he said.

In the same vein, going by Knight Frank’s recent Africa Report 2015, international investors are increasingly looking for opportunities in Africa’s real estate markets. The report said that in the past year alone, property searches from outside Nigeria increased from under 30 percent to well over 45 percent of all searches on our website.

According to another report, following rising demand for commercial space and housing for middle-income and young professionals in Nigeria, the nation’s real estate market has continued to grow with the sector now valued above N8.4 trillion.

According to a report by Agusto & Co., the Lagos sub-segment of the market accounts for at least 40 per cent of the Nigerian market.

“Growth, the report revealed, continues to be driven largely by market residential and commercial properties in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. The report estimates the market to grow by an estimated average of 10 per cent in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

“The Lagos real estate market, which has evolved in the last decade, continues to report significant growth in both the residential and commercial sub-segments. The key growth factors include population growth, economic growth, rapid urbanization, rising consumer disposable income and the introduction of mortgages.

“Supply of real estate properties in Lagos have been supported by the improvement in land titling and ownership transfer, government’s development plans and improved security framework in the state. The Lagos real estate market was delineated under the residential and commercial segments for adequate coverage, “Agusto & Co. said.

The report added that the Lagos residential market remained strong across the various sub-markets adding that new residential investments were prominent in the prime markets comprising Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Lekki and Ikeja GRA.

“Our research also revealed that new residential investments in the prime markets targeted the growing expatriate community and affluent indigenous tenants. Supply of new residential investments in the most mainland markets remained subdued due to shortage of land, leaving property developers with the option of buying and remodeling old properties.

Experts in the real estate sector have also declared that huge opportunities abound in the Nigerian property market, in spite of the major challenges confronting the sector.

The experts, who are drawn from the mortgage sector, real estate development and estate surveying profession, spoke recently in Lagos, at a one-day seminar organised by International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) Nigeria, with the theme: ‘Mortgage Finance & the Nigerian Property Market: Challenges & Opportunities’.

They opined that the property market is the future of the Nigerian economy because it is capable of stimulating the other sectors of the economy, anchoring their optimistic views of the property market and mortgage finance sector on the country’s population, demand and the economic capacity of the people.

The realtors however noted that for the potentials of the sector to be fully achieved, the bureaucratic bottlenecks, dearth of basic infrastructures and costly land administration in the country must be adequately addressed.

Speaking at the event, Yinka Adeola, MD/CEO, Safetrust Savings and Loans Limited, noted some of the factors that can drive growth and opportunities in the mortgage and property market sector in the country include its population of over150 million and a growth rate estimated at 2.83 percent per annum.

Source : http://sunnewsonline.com/