Property market upbeat, investors confident despite election fears
Contrary to earlier prediction of a lull and investor-apathy in the property market during and after the general elections in Nigeria, the market surprisingly remained upbeat with prices remaining stable and homebuyers still taking up new homes.
The prevailing situation in the market, which was least expected, reaffirms the market’s resilience and growth story in recent time, typifying a positive response to supply-demand dynamics.
Fears of a possible violence in the aftermath of the most keenly contested election since the return of democracy in 1999, had occasioned political and economic uncertainty in the country with most homebuyers opting to play the wait-and-see game before making key investment decisions.
“Surprisingly, the market has fared quite better than my expectations,” Olumide Olutimayin, managing director, Axora Home Limited, a property vending firm, said in an interview with BusinessDay.
Olutimayin who anticipates a more successful outing by the second half of the year, explained that the peaceful outcome of the elections will no doubt restore confidence in the market.
The property market which started 2015 with skepticism orchestrated by political tension, dwindling global oil price and the devaluation of the Naira has seen developers of high-end properties struggle to conclude deals on their projects.
However, for developers playing in the mid-income market, demand remained relatively stable during and after the elections.
Azuka Ugboh, media director, GT Rich Investment, owners of the fast growing Lekki Gardens Limited, disclosed t o this reporter that while the election seemed to have lowered homebuyer’s enthusiasm towards the market, the interest is his firm’s ongoing projects was still stable.
“Most of our existing clients who we now see as partners have continued to show strong interest even during the elections and we expect that the peaceful conduct of the elections will lure more buyers’to the market,” Ugboh said.
Obi Ejimofo, managing director, Lamudi—an online real estate market place— said it was quite revealing that against earlier expectations, customers had continued to visit their website in search of properties pre and during the election period.
“Rather than a drop in customer traffic in the run up to the elections, we experienced record numbers of visits and leads generated in the four weeks leading up to the polls.
“Also, contrary to expectations that the market would see an immediate bounce after the polls, we have instead observed numbers slightly drop ever since, he noted revealed, explaining that decline in site visit might be driven by house hunters’ need to take out time to re-evaluate their personal situation following the outcome of the elections. While prices continue to remain stable in most locations, market watchers say trends in the market would become more obvious in the next 2-3 months as there was always the need for a lag in-between an event and actual activity in real estate.
Okechukwu Iwuagwu, a real estate vendor in the Lekki-Epe axis, Lagos also affirmed stable price in most locations, adding however, that it was still a ‘buyers market’.
Prices have not crashed; it is still stable but certainly more of buyers’ market; there are also more negotiations because of the tight flow of cash in the economy, but we expect to close more deals as the economy regains its momentum soon,” he said.
ODINAKA MBONU