Apparently impressed by the outcome of meeting with manufacturers of BUA and Dangote cement, the President of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Ugo Chime, has assured developers and home builders to expect a reduction in the prices of building materials in the coming weeks.
He gave this assurance at an empowering programme in Enugu on “Real Estate Management.”
As a results of these discussions, Chime said Nigeria’s real estate development sector was about to experience a boom, adding that this would lead to construction of housing schemes in different states and reduction in loan interests.
The president of REDAN said: “We’ve been able to conclude a meeting with manufacturers of BUA and Dangote cement and they are interested in making everyone own affordable home.
“This will lead to a reduction in prices of building materials and any loan interest from the National Housing Fund (NHF) is reduced to just 10 per cent or no per cent at all, as the case may be.”
New Telegraph’s survey showed that a bag of 50-kilogramme of cement currently sells at N2,750.00 depending on locations as against N2,700.00 in January. No reason has been given for N50.00 price increase by manufacturers.
Chime explained that housing schemes’ contracts have also been awarded to several companies to begin work in different states of Nigeria under the National Housing Programme.
On loan reduction, he said: “For example, a loan of N5 million from NHF has no interest on it, while that of N10 million to N20 million comes with a 10 per cent interest and not 30 per cent as before.”
Besides, the REDAN boss said the expected boom in the real estate sector was as a result of recent successes the association recorded in surmounting challenges facing the industry.
He attributed the successes to the ability of REDAN leadership to convince the Federal Government that real estate could contribute more to Nigeria’s economy if given the necessary support.
Comparing Nigeria with other climes, he said that real estate in the country “contributes just about seven per cent to the economy while it contributes 20 per cent and 70 per cent to Ghana and United Kingdom’s economies respectively.
“So, we have convinced the Federal Government that real estate can contribute more than its current seven per cent to the economy with the needed support.”
This conviction, he said has been yielding results, amounting to successes the sector recorded in the past weeks.
However, due to the nascent nature of the profession, Chime stated that some laws needed to be put in place to ensure that the sector thrived, lamenting the huge capacity gap in real estate management, which he noted was the bane of housing development in the country.
He gave assurance that the association hoped to embark on training and awareness creation to bridge the gap.
Some of the challenges in Nigeria’s real estate sector include absence of long-term fund, high cost of fund, high interest rate, inadequate access to land, official bureaucracy, poor land administration and lack of capacity.
