Maduka Nweke
With Nigeria ranking 145 out 190 countries in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index and acknowledged as one of the top 10 most improved economies in the world, real estate has contributed over US$4 billion of institutional capital according to 2018 statistics.
The country has also moved up by 24 points from 169th position of 2017 to 145th position in the World Bank’2018 report, 171 out 190 from the 182nd position 2017 for countries paying taxes. It also rose to 179th from 182nd for countries registering property.
Making the revelation recently at the Town Hall meeting of the 7th Edition of the Real Estate Unite, 2018 in Lagos, the Founder/CEO Eximia Realty Co Ltd, Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran, said that a lot of policies inhibit the growth of real estate in Nigeria.
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According to him, the real estate sector in Nigeria is bedeviled by lack of key drivers, acute inadequacy of primary and secondary infrastructure, issues of power sector reforms, PHCN problems. This includes public utilities like roads, water and recreational facilities. This he said, is because every developer is a mini – local government.
In his presentation, Mr. Luqman Edu, CEO Filmo-Realty noted that real estate is acutely affected by limitations of the sector as an asset class and this he said is compounded by the fact that data that is important in the sector is not available.
He noted that the use of technology can help in the growth of real estate.
Several other discussants at the town hall agreed that, although the sector had not done much as expected, recent policies or reforms in the sector if taken and implemented to the letter will help in improving on the sector’s growth.
Some of the recent policies or reforms included but not limited to, Lagos State Property Protection Law of 2016, law on prohibition of land grabbing and new guidelines for pioneer status.
Others include, review of consent fees or charges, review of the Land Use Act and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) amendment of Investment Securities Act rules.
While giving analysis on growth of the sector in the Sub-Saharan region, Ogunniran said, “The Sub-
Saharan Africa region has seen limited progress over the last two years, with improvements led by the regional hubs – Nigeria and Kenya.
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Market data availability continues to be pushed forward, while both valuation standards and transaction processes are advancing, with more international service providers entering markets across the region.
Government data initiatives have been important in raising transparency levels, with Kenya and Rwanda digitising their land registries, while Nigeria and Ghana have started to publish more information on regulatory requirements online.
Kenya sees continued progress due to improved transaction process and greater data availability Nigeria top regional improver as 3rd party providers enhance market coverage and valuation quality”.
