THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER, 5TH DECEMBER 2022.

Headline: Why Nigerians Can’t Afford Homes Despite N20 Trillion Real Estate Contributions to GDP

Concerns have risen over the increasing housing deficit in the country despite the nation’s construction and real estate sector’s contribution of N20 trillion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. Experts have blamed this problem on the skyrocketing level of inflation in the country which has hyped the cost of construction materials.

Speaking about the cause of the housing deficit, the president of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) Michael Shonubi noted that the aftermath of the COVID-19 lockdown created a shortage in the production of construction materials and disrupted supply chain logistics thereby skyrocketing the cost of construction materials. He also noted that the Russian invasion of Ukraine shortly after the lockdown further infuriated economic crises around the globe, leading to the worst inflation in more than 40 years in some western countries.

Speaking further, Shonubi stated that if the government wants to reduce costs and ensure affordable housing for the people, then there have to be tax breaks to encourage local production of imported materials, and provision of essential infrastructure to aid production as the raw materials are locally available. He also stated that people’s opinion of locally made materials as substandard needs to change.

The president of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) Mr. Nathaniel Atebije, called for investment and development of quality local building materials that will meet needs and also be cost-effective. He also emphasized the need to encourage research institutions like the Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) and other educational institutions that will research to produce cost-effective homes.

PUNCH NEWSPAPER, 18TH DECEMBER 2022.

Headline: CBN Policy Will Increase Housing Cost, Says REDAN

The CBN cashless policy has created mixed feelings among real estate developers. While some of them have lauded the policy as a good move, others called on the government to rethink the policy as it might make or mar the government’s commitment to reduce the housing deficit.

Recall that the CBN in a memo in November announced a limit on cash withdrawals made by individuals and organizations with effect from 9th January 2023. The policy stipulates that over-the-counter withdrawals by individual and corporate organizations do not exceed N100,000 and N500,000 per week. While cash withdrawals via ATM should not exceed N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawals per day.

In an interview with Punch newspaper, the President and Chairman of the Council of Real Estate Developer Association of Nigeria, Aliyu Wamakko, opined that the policy will make life difficult for the 38 million unbanked Nigerians representing the 36% of the populace. He noted that the policy will increase the cost of production as a result of the number of times one will have to visit the bank for withdrawal and the interest charged for each withdrawal, thereby affecting the selling price of houses.

Some players in the building industry also opined that such a policy will affect the laborers who are unbanked and are on daily payment. Some also opined that the policy will put them in a dilemma on how to pay workers as some of them engage over 30 artisans in a day who must be paid daily, and going by the policy, N100,000 will not be able to pay each of them for the day’s job. Some players like Akinropo Abraham, a property consultant with Fola Elegbede and Co, opined that the policy is a welcomed development as the artisans will have to adjust themselves to the policy. He noted that the policy will help curb the menace of armed robbery caused by the result of carrying cash around. A property broker, Collin Ibie stated that though the policy will affect some landowners who are skeptical about bank transfers and still insist on cash transactions, the policy is a welcomed development

PUNCH NEWSPAPER, 19TH DECEMBER 2022.

Headline: Lagos Inaugurates Digital Land Processing

The Lagos state government has disclosed its plan to digitize all land documents in the state. This is in a bid to ensure that all interested persons in real estate transactions can be able to access land information(s) from anywhere in the world. This was disclosed through Dr. Olajide Babatunde, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Electronic Geographic Information Systems and Physical Planning, during a panel discussion on Deploying Technology for Transparency and Growth of the Lagos Real Estate Market at the just concluded third Lagos Real Estate Market Place Conference and Exhibitions held in Lagos.

Dr. Olajide stated that the real estate sector needs transparency such that an effective and viable platform needs to be created to enable both foreign and local investors to actively participate. The Permanent Secretary, Lands Bureau, Olabode Agoro, noted that the registration of individuals and organizations by LASRERA was to ensure that only qualified and certified persons were authorized to practice in the real estate sector. The permanent secretary went on to add that the E-GIS is an advanced system that will distribute information across a network of systems and that the digitalization of the system will capture accurate data for efficiency.

DECEMBER REAL ESTATE NEWS SUMMARY

DECEMBER REAL ESTATE NEWS SUMMARY