NMRC’s N20bn raise rekindles hope for low rate mortgage, affordable housing

Hope for low interest mortgage and affordable housing is creeping into the property market as the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) gets set to return to the capital market to issue fresh bond that will enable it to raise N20 billion for increased liquidity in the mortgage market, BusinessDay findings reveal.

NMRC had earlier visited the capital market from where it raised N8 billion with which it refinanced mortgages originated by six mortgage institutions including Stanbic IBTC, Imperial Homes, Sterling Bank, Sun Trust Mortgage Bank, Trustbond Mortgage Bank, and Homebase Mortgage Bank which got N1.8 billion,  N1.7 billion, N1.6 billion, N1.3 billion, N700 million and N500 million respectively.

Nigeria is known to have over 17 million housing units deficit, requiring about N59.50 trillion to close. This deficit, according to experts, is traceable to lack of mortgage access such that houses are built through own savings which fuels temptation for corrupt practices as many who want to save legitimately take a life time to save, yet cannot afford to buy or build  houses.

Launched a couple of years ago, NMRC is a private sector-driven company with the public purpose of developing the primary and secondary mortgage markets by raising long‐term funds from the domestic capital market as well as foreign markets for providing accessible and affordable housing in Nigeria.