Stakeholders Seek Bureau For Real Estate Developers

Stakeholders Seek Bureau For Real Estate Developers

Stakeholders have called on the Federal Government to establish a Bureau of Real Estate Developers, which would provide data that could be used to determine the technical competency and experience of professionals in the industry.

The stakeholder met at a two-day hybrid 5th Housing Finance Summit organised by NISH Housing Limited in Abuja, focused on “Maximising the Impact of Pension For Equity on Affordable Housing Delivery” and “Leveraging Digital Banking for Cooperative Housing Finance.”

Setting the tone for the programme, the Managing Director of the company, Dr. Yemi Adelakun, said the objectives were to promote housing finance disruptions and leverage digital and technology innovation as well as cooperative principles for large-scale affordable housing delivery.

The participants agreed that affordable housing should be between N5 million to N15 million – for shelter seekers, while credible data needed to facilitate affordable housing through designs suitable for the level of income.

They expressed the need for architects and other professionals to design housing that are not horizontal but vertical to gain the advantage of space and affordability, as well as the need for standardisation of designs and materials and enforcement of specifications for buildings.

The participants also harped on need to pay attention to green funding, non-Interest financing such as Sukuk and use of Real Estate Trusts (REITS), as well as need to re-define and to re-design houses to be tailored towards affordability.

They observed that Nigeria’s Pension fund asset was about N14.42 trillion with about 9.7 million contributors – collaboration is needed to use the Pension Fund for the housing fund. Pension fund is likely the fund that can deliver affordable housing in Africa as it has done in other climes.

The summit pointed out the need to commoditize housing and to start to manufacture houses instead of building houses, adding that the money market is unsuitable to finance housing and the capital market provides a more viable option for funding by securing pension fund investments in asset classes.

MEANWHILE, Housing Summit Awards were presented to deserving, individuals, corporations and cooperatives for their contributions to affordable housing development and finance.

The recipients include Managing Editor, The Guardian, Chinedum Uwaegbulam, Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan and Founder of Aig Foundation, Aigboje Aig-Imoukuede.

Other awardees are Former Managing Director, of Family Homes Funds, Femi Adewole, Managing Director of Aso Savings and Loans, Hajia Risi Ahmed, Lagos Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai and federal agencies such as Federal Government Housing Loans Board, Police Mortgage Bank, Nigeria Immigration Service Cooperatives, and Federal Integrated Staff Housing Cooperative.

Source: guardian