CHALLENGES AFFECTING REAL ESTATES IN NIGERIA
In the real estate industry, Nigeria is experiencing rapid urbanization, with an estimated annual national population growth rate of just over 2% and an annual urban population growth rate of about 4%. The population is becoming more and more focused to the urban areas, towns and cities with just under 50% of the population living in urban areas — and this number will continue to grow. This is one of the factors responsible for the viability of the real estate industry.
But despite these encouraging figures and trends, the Nigeria real estate industry is still burdened by several issues that are hindering its growth. These issues affecting the Nigeria real estate industry is the focus of this article. We will be looking at the top 5 issues affecting the Nigeria real estate industry in no particular order.
- Land Registration Bureaucratic Process
Top on the list of issues affecting Nigeria real estate industry is the bureaucratic process of land registration. Nigeria is among the worst globally when it comes to registering property, according to the World Bank’s Business 2013 report, which ranks it 182nd out of 185 countries. The registration process can last as long as 6 months to 2 years, taking an average of 12 procedures, and costing about 20.8% of the value of the property. Some of the fees or taxes payable are:
• Consent Fee
• Capital Gains Tax
• Stamp Duty Fee
• Registration Fee, and
• Current tax clearance certificates of the parties to the property transaction
The lackadaisical attitude to work is the major cause of undue delay at the land registry. Oftentimes, a developer’s application would pass from office to office over several weeks and by the time the necessary approval is obtained, he may have lost his source of funding or incurred huge interest on loan obtained for development.
However, Graceview Homes and Properties Ltd aims to streamline the regulatory environment and improve incentives for private and commercial investment thereby making the land purchase transaction a smooth, stress free and fast process for the clients.
- High Cost of property development
Building a house is very expensive in Nigeria. A three-bedroom house, for example, will cost about ₦20,787,500.00, compared to ₦14,967,000.00 in South Africa, according to the former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The cost of construction is high for three reasons: high costs of building materials, high skilled labor costs, and costs associated with poor roads and sewage systems.
About 75% of dwellings in Nigeria’s urban areas are built with concrete. Cement prices in Nigeria are about 30-40% higher than in neighboring countries and world market prices. The lack of public infrastructure adds as much as 30% to the total costs of the development.
- Devaluation of the Naira
The recent devaluation of naira is also among the top issues affecting Nigeria real estate industry. This is because the Nigerian construction industry is heavily dependent on foreign importation for the raw materials and equipment they use for construction. With a devalued naira, the cost of purchasing these raw materials and equipment will definitely increase.
As a result of the high costs of doing business, property developers to remain profitable will have to pass on these additional costs incurred to the market. According to industry experts, the estimated rise in the costs of housing is 25% – 35%.
The effect of the naira devaluation would have been much milder if construction materials are produced locally thereby cutting down the cost of construction and in turn making properties more affordable for the average Nigerian.
- Collapsing Buildings
Building collapses is also one of the top issues affecting Nigeria real estate industry. From 1974 – 2010 as a result of over 60 building collapse in Nigeria, 401 people have died and several more haven’t been reported or accounted for.
Nigeria is so blessed as a nation that we rarely ever experience natural disasters such as earthquakes, Tsunami, or Tornadoes. Yet, despite the absence of all these collateral damaging natural disasters, our buildings still collapse in Nigeria.
Why? Because of our own man made infrastructural disasters. Since we didn’t have our own natural disasters to bring down our buildings, we simply created our own version through sheer negligence. Privately owned buildings both commercial and residential account for the highest number of collapsed buildings in Nigeria.
However Graceview Homes have sourced over time for quality building materials to make durable structures for her clients. Also, It has a very unique and a ready to build topography, with a approved building plan.
- Limited Source of Funding
Nigeria possesses all the key factors for real estate investment — a growing middle-class population, growth in consumption, rapid urbanization and a young demographic compared to more mature economies.
Yet, financing remains a problem both for property developers and prospective homeowners. So whether you’re thinking of investment property financing or securing real estate loans for financing a personal home purchase, you will still have to deal with the familiar problem of insufficient capital sooner or later.