Monetization: Abuja Property Market Suffers Lull
Real Estate
By Paul Ojenagbon
All is not well with the property market in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. There has been a glut of high class residential accommodations in the nation's seat of government. For many months now, especially since the federal government adopted the policy of monetization, the market has been very slow in absorbing new intakes of housing accommodations especially those of the luxury apartment grade and detached/semi-detached house category. It is taking increasingly long for these classes of property to attract buyers or renters in the market. Professionals in the real estate sector especially those who constantly transact in the city and other watchers of property trends could not agree more about the downward developments though they would attribute the trend to a pot-pouri of factors. One factor they appear to be generally agreed on is monetization.
Mr Emeka Eleh of Ubosi Eleh + Company (firm of estate surveyors and valuers) posited that monetization was the root cause, but that there were other factors, "You see, the monetization policy brought the property market in Abuja to reality. It uncovered the underbelly of what we had always known that the values of property in the nation's Federal City were largely artificial. They were values attached to them by greedy government officials who exploited the previous policy by collecting excess housing allowances purporting to be rents on the accommodation they occupy. They colluded with landlords and/or their representatives to hike the actual market rent by as many times as it is possible because of the benefits they stood to derive. With the Monetization Policy in place, these officials can no longer perpetrate their nefarious acts because they now pay the rent from their own pocket as they now have to collect the consolidated amount of their housing allowance which have stipulated limits", he said.
According to Eleh, these officials suddenly realized their game of over invoicing was up and some are quitting their high profile quarters for lesser accommodations in lesser-endowed areas. The vacated accommodation and the new ones coming into the market now constitute a glut of property in the market. Evidence can be easily deduced from the riotous picture of "to let/for sale" boards that litter the land
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