The Nigeria real estate sector is fraught with numerous challenges and the Managing Director and CEO of real estate company, Revolution Plus Property, Bamidele Onalaja has identified what he terms the most urgent challenges that the government should resolve as soon as possible.
While speaking at the real estate stakeholders’ engagement forum organized by Lagos state estate agency regulatory authority on Wednesday in Lagos, Onalaja said real estate issues concerning land titling, cost of doing business, proper regulation and a few others are urgent areas that needs solutions in order to fast track the development of the sector.
‘’There are five major challenges that the government need to look at. The first is titling. Titling is key for any developer. It shouldn’t take more than 30 days to get a title, certificate of occupancy and the consent of the governor. In some countries, it takes less than 48 hours.
‘’Another is that land registry needs to be digitalized. That will even help the government in even making more money. We should have data to work with. The issue of multiple taxation should be looked into.
‘’Also building collapse. We need to empower the various arms of government to check building collapse. Every permit, whether for planning or building should be taken seriously. The process of getting building approval should be very fast.
‘’There is also the issue of Funding. Funding is very important. I think the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria should do more so that developers can get single digit mortgage. And I believe this can be done.
The government should also look into the high cost of property. The goal of every player in the sector is to ensure that houses are very affordable for those who really need them,’’ he said.
Once all these are done, Onalaja said he believes developers will deliver faster and there will be a better housing system in Lagos and Nigeria.
He also praised the event as a great forum for all players in the sector, both buyers and sellers to express themselves and work together to improve the sector.
His company, Revolution Plus Property is a one stop real estate development company operating for over five years now. According to him, they currently have over 30 estates in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun, and expanding to Rivers and all over Nigeria.
Onalaja who has been in the sector for over 18 years, having worked previously in the mortgage sector said the focus of Revolution Plus Property is to deliver affordable housing.
The estate company he said has affordable mortgages that are spread for up to five years.
