Prime residential trends: Why residential tenants are now spoilt for choice

Renting up-market properties has traditionally been the preserve of multinational corporates and large size local companies. But as the economy continues to contract, with signs of recession looming, companies and families are reviewing their residential requirements and adjusting to the rapidly changing markets.

Discussing the latest trends in the prime residential tenant markets, Udo Okonjo, CEO of Fine and Country, told BusinessDay that most corporates have dramatically reduced their residential budgets, and are now focused heavily on good quality, well maintained but just as importantly well priced residential properties.

“The days of bloated budgets are over”,Okonjo noted, saying that most companies were now looking at issues of proximity, security, total cost of renting which covers the full service cost and professional fees.

In addition, dollar denominated rentals which were a norm are now being hit, with most corporate tenants negotiating proactively to benchmark against the official rate. Sensible landlords, Okonjo opined, will have to become more sensitive to the market demands to attract good quality tenants and go the extra mile in maintaining a well kept property at reasonable costs to ensure they don’t have a high turnover, or worse, long vacancy periods.

A new group of tenants who stand to benefit are families who are now transiting from larger homes to renting either for the medium or long term as a stepping stone to buying a home in prime areas or for lifestyle reasons.

This trend carries a number of benefits from its lower ownership expenses, to flexibility and predictability. In a cosmopolitan city such as Lagos, finding a suitable home to rent which provides all the amenities—a good quality lifestyle, in a location that is central to schools, hospitals, entertainment centres, financial institutions, religious centres, and at an attractive rental charge can be a herculean task.

However, the growing stock of over-priced rental properties which, in most cases, do not offer any special features, has given new entrants, which address a growing market gap for well priced, efficiently managed and well finished prime properties, an edge over their nearest competitors.

Fine and Country cites as an example of such new entrants, the Cappa D’alberto built and newly refurbished 1 Cooper-Mirama Residence, which is strategically located on 1 Cooper Road in Ikoyi, and offering a superb collection of 18 units of 3-Bedroom apartments with a sprawling executive penthouse apartment across 10-floors with panoramic views of the Ikoyi metropolis.

With Fine and Country as the exclusive leasing consultants, special care has been taken to ensure that tenants are well indulged and have no worries with the presence of a highly efficient facility management services which ensure maintenance of all facilities such as swimming pools for children and adults, fully fitted gym, uninterrupted electricity supply with 900KVA standby generators, fully fitted kitchens with all the necessary amenities and the extra large living rooms and bedrooms with modern finishings, which are particularly positioned to provide excellent lighting and ventilation.

The prime address, along with the sensible value pricing and superb presentation of the property, makes a significant difference in today’s market place. Extra security has also been taken into consideration with the provision of modern security devices as well as 24-hour security personnel.

1 Cooper- Mirama Residence is being presented to the market as, arguably, a superior address, most efficiently priced and presented prime residential accommodation on the Island and ideal for families of high profile local executives and expatriates.