Cash-strapped real estate sector hit by poor skills, policy flip-flops
The real estate sector of the Nigerian economy is badly hit by poor skills, absence of reliable funding and appropriate policy on land acquisition, according to experts.
“The major problems we face are land acquisition, finance, documentation, skills and government bureaucracy,” Olumide Osunsina, chairman, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Real Estate Group, said in Lagos.
“Real estate is the catalyst for driving the economy and is one of the largest employers of labour. But these are challenges. However, we are engaging with the government, especially on land acquisition,” Osunsina told journalists at the first business clinic of the Real Estate Group of the LCCI.
Osunsina explained that housing deficit was not the major issue but affordability of the houses being built.
Nigeria’s 180 population provides a key market for real estate. It is estimated that the country has 17 million housing deficit, but major players seek skills outside the country while there is dearth of funds in the sector.
Nike Akande, president, LCCI, said Nigeria’s real estate industry still had a great potential despite the current economic lull, saying, “Our large population of 180 million and the housing deficit in the country indicate a positive prospect for the real estate industry.
“In addition, Nigeria has emerged as a major hub of building and architectural design in Africa. This is largely induced by the spread of Nollywood, where Nigerian building designs are showcased and watched across the African continent.”
Akande said the trend provided an opportunity for players in the real estate to maximise both local and emerging offshore potential.
Speaking on ‘Standardisation and Sustainability: A New Era in the Real Estate Industry,’ Ben Akaneme, CEO of Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited, said adherence to standards would speed up building projects and save time.
Represented by Bayo Shabayo, Akaneme said it was important for Nigeria’s real estate players to consider the impact of their actions on the people and the environment, stating that this was one major way of attracting international investors.
“If we begin to place standards on the table, building hazards will begin to reduce,” he said.
Abiodun Gbolahan Kamildeen, past president of American Society of Safety Engineers (Nigerian chapter), said global investors would be interested in the real estate industry when players took health and safety seriously.
“The boom we are seeing in the United Arab Emirate is from external investors. And they are looking at health and environmental management,” Kamildeen said.
He stressed that investors were also considering the quality of buildings produced by each country, urging key players to take precautions by employing health and safety professionals as soon as a project was started, to avoid spending more on legal fees, medical bills or other claims.