Prospect for real estate sector as FIABCI sets to promote growth drivers

Growth prospect is on the way for Nigerian real estate sector as the Nigerian chapter of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) perfects plans to honour and promote individuals and institutions it has recognized as drivers of growth in the sector.

The federation which is the most representative real estate organization in the world hopes that this plan which is an integral part of its Annual Award and Business Dinner 2017 will help motivate the domestic real estate space, adding that the award would also help to drive excellence, encourage creativity and promote good business environment.
“This is an annual event through which we provide insights on real estate and contribute to national economic space”, explained Joseph Akhigbe, president, FIABCI Nigeria, who spoke at a press conference addressed by the federation in Lagos recently.
Akhigbe informed that the theme of this year’s Award and Dinner is ‘Real Estate: It is All About the Economy’, and listed the five various categories of awards slated for this year as Finance (Most Effective Real Estate Financier), Architecture and Design, Public Private Partnership, Real Estate Journalist, and Developer/Urban Planning.
As a worldwide real estate organization, FIABCI membership cuts across all segments of real estate industry including commercial, residential, retail, commercial office and industrial space. It has members in 65 countries including 100 professional associations, 65 academic institutions and 3,000 individual members.
“FIABCI is the most representative organization of the real estate industry in the world and holds special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSCOC) of the United Nations”, Akhigbe informed, assuring that the forth-coming annual dinner would provoke thoughts on both the economy and the real estate sector.
Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria’s Minister for Power, Works and Housing is expected at the Dinner as the special guest of honour while Doyin Salami, a teacher at the Lagos Business School and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will be the guest speaker.
In several ways, the local chapter of the federation gets involved in international economic and social engagements which it localizes for the real estate sector and the beneficiaries of real estate assets.
Chudi Ubosi, the federation’s Africa president, recalled at the press conference that, earlier this year, the federation launched a campaign on moderately-priced or affordable housing for which it sought private sector interests to partner with in order to proffer solution to the problems associated with the delivery of such houses.
The Nigeria chapter is highly involved in this campaign, having endorsed the federation’s slogan—‘The City We Need is Affordable’—and also being among a distinguished panel at the recently concluded MIPIM Conference where they discussed and shared experiences of urban policy and housing delivery.
“Our goal in this campaign is to find various ways to reduce, as quickly as possible, the current imbalance between the low supply and huge demand for moderately-priced housing units”, Ubosi said, assuring that through the campaign, FIABCI plans, among other measures, to identify beneficial financing formula that would encourage investors and developers to embrace the campaign and to take play an active role in planning today the cities of tomorrow equipped with affordable housing.

CHUKA UROKO