Housing gaps, free market create real estate investment opportunity for women

Gender inclusiveness or representation in almost every sphere of human activity is today a global phenomenon and it is such that even in real estate investing, advisory services and advocacy, which are traditionally men’s tuff,  have a sizable number of women players.

 In Nigeria, experts say the number of women investing in real estate is not yet enough to make appreciable impact  which is why the experts believe that  increasing women’s access to resources for investment in real estate could guarantee the sector’s improved contribution GDP.

But Nella Andem-Rabana, managing partner, Lexglobal Partners, who spoke at a one-day women seminar organized by Knightstone Properties Limited in collaboration with the Nigerian-British Chambers of Commerce in Lagos recently,  says existing gaps in the Nigerian housing market coupled with the country’s free market enterprise have created opportunity and given sufficient reason for women to invest in real estate.

She noted that apart from being a basic, primal need for every human being that lies at the bottom of the hierarchy of needs, housing is also one of the fastest growing and most lucrative sectors in Africa and anywhere else in the world, pointing out that  the opportunity  is such that women can take advantage of.

She cited United Nations (UN) statistics which projects that about 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing globally and that over 100 million are homeless, saying, “Nigeria hosts an uncomfortably large percentage of these two, with over 100 million Nigerians considered to live in substandard accommodation”.

“Apart from the 17 million housing units deficit, Nigeria’s current housing production is 100,000 units/ year, but requires 800,000 units/ year”, she revealed,  adding that  the country’s annual housing  deficit is 700,000 units/ year.

Andem-Rabana estimated mortgage market capacity at N224 billion in 2014 while housing sector contribution to GDP is as low as 0.5 percent.  “From the foregoing statistics, there is no gain saying that opportunities abound in the housing sector and if the gap of 700,000 houses per year at the Federal Mortgage Bank lower limit of N5 million per home is filled, a market potential of N3 trillion will be infused into the economy”, he said.

Though the eeal estate sector requires varying skill sets from brute strength to highly skilled and intricate capabilities, Andem-Rabana, a former attorney general and commissioner for justice, Cross River State, noted that Nigerian women have shown great aptitude and proficiency in business and management and are born entrepreneur.

“Multitasking nature of women is a pure advantage. Women have the capacity to take care of the home front as well as the business interest; therefore, every adult Nigerian citizen of sound mind can acquire landed property and by extension can invest in real estate”, she posited.