Nigeria’s real estate suffering from poor financing structure – Sunnewsonline
The Co-founder, Wealth Island Properties, Akintade Esan, has decried the lack of financing structure in the real estate sector of the economy. He said that the poor financing has helped increase housing shortage in the country that is already hitting hard on low income earners. Speaking in an interview with Daily Sun recently, Esan said that real estate has a lot of potential to make Nigeria a huge economy. He however, regretted that the sector is one sided and sometimes overrated in some areas. He said that Nigeria has population advantages that favour treal estate.
According to him, “What will make real estate business boom very well in Nigeria is the financing structure. Nigeria does not have a financing structure, as individuals and developers raise their own finances. Though, there are financing structures that want to support but the process, procedures and conditions are killing operators and makes them opt out. The population favours us but every other thing is not working for us right now and that is what we need to work towards. However, there is prospect, there is an emerging market because there are three phases of real estate; there is an emerging market, a declining market and a growing market.
“In places like Ikoyi, there is a declining market. Ikoyi was once a very amazing place but now there are many areas in Ikoyi that need revitalisation because it was known as a place of affluence in Lagos. Places like Badagry need revitalisation in Lagos because they are treasure points for Lagos. They are historical and that is how some nations make money. But Nigeria does not see real estate from that angle. We just think it is about housing. But it is more than housing, it encompasses everything that surrounds it.”
He said government should do regulations while individuals should do real estate. He argued that government cannot build houses, because their roles are all about regulations and that is why often times in Lagos one would see people start a project which they never finishthey never finish.
Chiamaka Ajaemo, sunnewsonline.com
