The Nation Newspaper

Tag: housing gap

  • ‘How to bridge housing gap’

    A firm, Lifepage Group, has said the best way to close the gaping housing gap in the country is by encouraging private firms in building more affordable houses.

    As a demonstration of this, the firm has unveiled plans to build one million houses across the different class strata in the country over the next 22 years. Special emphasis would however be on the lower cadre of home seekers.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the ‘Million Homes’ project, its Managing Director, Mr. Oladipupo Clement, said the project, is an initiative with the goal of building one million homes by 2041. He said the reason the firm is are offering subscribers the opportunity to partake in secured real estate developments is for them to make gains and benefits never heard of before. This, he said, is why the project is structured to thrive on real estate crowd funding platform, allowing subscribers to make gains in cash and/or assets while the capital sum would still be intact. Besides, initiatives like this require a lot of collaboration and funding.

    Clement said several of the projects cutting across the country would come under the ‘Million Homes’ initiative including the Olive Property Development Programme (OPDP)- a project-focused and guaranteed investment property scheme.

    “OPDP is in two categories. The first allows an investor to recoup their principal investment in two years and get a plot of land worth more than the invested sum within 60 days of close of the offer period. In a nutshell, this platform helps investors guarantee their capital while earning returns in asset. The second allows an investor to recoup their principal investment and get 20 per cent guaranteed cash returns in one year. This category gives investors opportunity to earn returns in cash,” Clement explained.

  • Experts dispute 17m housing gap

    Is the 17 million housing gap true? No, says a fellow of the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Ismail Gbenga.

    He spoke at an interactive session organised by the institution in Lagos.

    He argued that the figure could not be correct as there were many unoccupied houses in many cities, such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

    He said the institution had raised the alarm over the increasing number of unoccupied houses.

    He wondered if there were proper statistics of unoccupied houses. He  agreed with the immediate past  Works and Housing minister Babatunde Fashola, who also disputed figures.

    He said with the several housing estates built by the government and the private sector, the 17 million housing gap should no longer exist.

    According to him, what the cities lack are infrastructure, adding that with infrastructure, such as good rail system, good road, efficient waste management system and potable  water, many people could live outside major cities and commute to the city centres daily.

    He called for a housing policy that would make it possible for many citizens to afford decent accommodation. He however advised the government to build more housing estates, such as Festac 77 Housing Estate and Gowon Estate, Lagos in various parts of the country.

    Another expert, Biodun Olapade said only social housing could solve the challenge.

    He criticised the national development plan, which did not accommodate the various needs of states and people.

    He said, for instance, the type of houses needed in Lagos is not what is needed in Zamfara State because of various reasons.

    In Lagos, what the people need is transit accommodation, such that when a person’s social status changes, he moves to a bigger accommodation unlike what is obtains where one size fits all,, he added.

    On housing deficit, a participant, Ewenla Mustapha,  said the government should provide a level-playing ground for private investors. He urged Lagos State Governor Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu,  an expert in the built industry, to reduce the housing deficit.

    On incessant building collapse, he listed the causes as poor  foundation, lack of maintenance, and defects in design.

    He regretted that some people stay in buildings marked for demolition by the government.

  • ‘Private, public partnership key to bridging housing gap

    Long-term public-private partnerships can ease Nigeria’s housing crisis, the Founder/Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Nedcomoaks Limited, a real estate company, Dr. Kennedy Okonkwo, has said.

    Okonkwo said the partnerships between private and public sector was key to improving housing gap in Nigeria.

    He underscored the power of collaboration in the housing sector and urged the government to play its role of driving the public-private partnership model in order to create affordable housing in Nigeria’s growing cities.

    “Financing infrastructure deficit across Nigeria and other African countries will involve collective innovation both across the public and the private sectors,” Okonkwo, whose firm is engaged in the acquisition, development and management of properties in Nigeria, said.

    He further stated that apart from partnership and collaboration, creating affordable housing in Nigeria requires truly understanding how people in those communities live.

    According to him, a careful understanding of that fact will help in determining how fast the country can meet the demands of its fast-growing cities.

    Okonkwo said the power of Nigeria’s real estate sector to contribute to the socio-economic well-being of the country by providing low-income housing solutions to Nigerians cannot be over-emphasised.

    He said Nedcomoaks has emerged a top player in Nigeria’s residential real estate sector, with yearly revenue of over N15 billion in just under a decade, while also providing employment to thousands.

  • N500b to fix housing gap

    THE Federal Government will in the next five years invest N500 billion in the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

    The fund is expected to help the country bridge the 17 million housing gap and make housing more affordable to the people, Chief Executive Officer, FMBN, Ahmed Dangiwa, told Bloomberg.

    He said lack of proper land deeds, poverty and record high interest rates means there are only an estimated 50,000 registered mortgages, of which state-owned FMBN accounts for 18,200.

    The lender is seeking to boost its capital from N5 billion at a rate of N100 billion a year. The FMBN is expecting proposals on its recapitalisation, as well as a reorganisation of its business, to be approved by all arms of government by the end of 2018, Dangiwa said.

    The company’s current capital base is “grossly inadequate,” he said. “That’s why we’re in the process of ensuring that the capital base be increased.”

    Armed with the extra cash, the lender can go from the 2,500 new mortgages it plans to sign up this year to 100,000 over the next two years, Dangiwa said. The extra capital will also encourage other investors to provide additional funding, he said.

    In August, the FMBN will flag off a 1,500 housing project it is providing funding for under a new “rent-to-own” programme that Dangiwa says will help creating more mortgages and access to housing.

    In South Africa, the continent’s most-industrialised economy with a population of about 55 million, mortgages account for almost 30 per cent of total credit, the largest component of banks’ assets, which amounted to about 5.14 trillion rand ($382 billion) at the end of January, according to central bank data. Nigeria has a population of about 200 million.

    The FMBN has been expanding and coordinating mortgage lending on a nation-wide basis, and is also promoting affordable housing to ensure that 17 million housing deficit is addressed.

    It was the FMBN that started the management and administration of the contributory savings scheme known as the National Housing Fund (NHF), which enabled it mobilise long-term funds from Nigerian workers, banks, insurance companies and the Federal Government to advance loans at soft interest rates to contributors.

    The FMBN finances mortgages created by primary mortgage institutions (PMI) under the NHF scheme, and also gives Estate Development Loans (EDL) to real estate developers.

  • How to bridge housing gap, by don

    THE availability of affordable land will help in addressing the country’s housing shortfall and mitigate the proliferation of slums, a Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Mohammed Asimiyu Junaid, has said.

    Delivering the 51st inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMINNA) in Niger State, with the theme: Housing for the Nigerian poor: A reality or a mirage, he said the National Housing Policy needed to be reviewed for efficient implementation.

    Junaid added that the government’s political will was required to ensure allocations for estate development go to competent developers who can help in achieving the national policy for urban development.

    At the event, which held at Caverton Lecture Hall on Gidan Kwano campus of the school, the don said: “There should be well-developed mortgage institutions to assist developers to obtain loans at low interest rates. The government should also ensure even distribution of resources between rural and urban areas to discourage rural-urban migration and to decongest our cities. The need for functional building designs and very durable materials for mass urban housing provision cannot be overemphasised.”

    Junaid maintained that the government’s aim to provide mass housing for the poor was achievable, adding that feasible financial policies were needed to increase access to materials. He said the government should promote the use of eco-friendly construction materials and energy-efficient technologies.

    He said: “In some emerging economies, housing experts and policy analysts were hired to devise ways of overcoming housing challenges, knowing how significant housing is to a nation’s GDP. Countries, such as India, Mexico, Jamaica, Malaysia, Brazil and Thailan, are good studies for Nigeria to learn from.

    “These countries have deployed strategies and models ranging from Home Loans Guarantee, Mortgage Insurance, Liquidity Facilities, Pass-Through Mortgage Backed Securities, Tax Credit for Low Income Housing, Seed Capital, and Hedging of foreign long-term debts for private market operators. While not recommending a direct transfer of these models, a critical look at them in relation to our internal environment will help a great deal.”

    He advised the government to grant import duty wavers on foreign building materials and also offer tax relief to private developers interested in public-private partnership for delivery of low-income housing scheme to poor workers, noting that the PPP agreement would assist in the provision of basic amenities and social infrastructure in the towns and cities.

    According to the inaugural lecturer, the problems of housing shortage, urbanisation, overcrowding, unemployment, and other urban challenges can be solved if low–cost housing schemes are revived.

    In his remark, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Musbau Akanji, hailed the “wonderful presentation” by  Junaid, describing the lecture’s topic as “apt and timely”.

    He said: “The lecture addresses the shortfall in mass housing scheme for poor Nigerians deserves an irrevocable commitment on the part of the government, estate developers and other stakeholders.”