Nigeria’s housing challenge is deepening as population growth continues to outpace supply, with an estimated five million new people requiring shelter each year, according to a new market review. The figure, linked to the country’s 2.5 per cent annual population growth rate, translates into a need for at least one million additional homes annually.
The “Nigerian Residential Market Review 2025” by Lagos-based real estate firm Diya, Fatimilehin & Company, warns that closing the gap will demand sustained investment. The firm noted that the recently launched ₦1 trillion real estate investment fund under the One Million Homes Housing Project, championed by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), could provide a much-needed boost to supply.
The report also highlighted shifting patterns across the country’s regional housing markets. In the South-East, cities such as Onitsha, Owerri, Awka, Umuahia, and Enugu are seeing demand move away from self-built homes to estates and gated communities. Duplexes, flats, and bungalows with modern designs are increasingly preferred, though land prices remain steep at between ₦25 million and ₦120 million per plot, while average prices per square metre range from ₦40,000 to ₦180,000.
In the North-West, agricultural mechanisation is spurring housing demand in Kano, Kaduna, and other cities despite persistent security challenges. Land costs between ₦25,000 and ₦150,000 per square metre, placing the price of a standard plot between ₦15 million and ₦100 million.
The report observed that in parts of the North-East, particularly Yola and Gombe where conflict levels are lower, demand for housing is strong, with average rents for flats above ₦1 million annually. Land values are pegged between ₦20,000 and ₦40,000 per square metre, or ₦10 million to ₦30 million per plot.
In the South-West, Lagos remains Nigeria’s most expensive property market, with Ikoyi, Banana Island, and Victoria Island commanding premium prices. A four-bedroom flat in Ikoyi now costs about ₦1.5 billion. However, alternative markets in Ogun and Oyo states are emerging. Locations such as Alalubosa and Iyaganku GRA in Ibadan and Laderin Estate in Abeokuta record rents as high as ₦3 million yearly. Analysts linked these shifts to ongoing infrastructure projects, including the Lagos Blue and Red Line metro rails, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, and the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, which are stimulating real estate growth in nearby cities like Abeokuta, Ibadan, and Osogbo.
In the North-Central, Abuja retains its position as the region’s anchor, with four-bedroom detached houses in prime districts such as Maitama, Asokoro, Guzape, and Ministers’ Hill now priced around ₦1 billion. High costs are, however, pushing investors to more affordable areas including Lafia, Minna, Jos, and Makurdi, where land prices range from ₦35,000 to ₦60,000 per square metre, or ₦20 million to ₦40 million per plot. The report identified Karsana in Abuja, Karu and Masaku in Nasarawa, Rayfield Extension in Jos, and parts of Tunga in Minna as emerging investment hotspots.
The study, endorsed by Tola Oyenekan, Head of Research and Advisory; Lanre Olutimilehin, Strategic Advisor; and Idowu Bakare, Head of Practice/Partner at Diya, Fatimilehin & Co., stressed that solving Nigeria’s housing deficit requires a combination of government-backed financing and private-sector innovation.
According to the firm, the scale of demand highlights the urgency of fresh policies and targeted investment to expand access to decent and affordable housing, as millions of Nigerians continue to be priced out of the market.
