Lagos Realty Provides Limitless Investment Opportunities
Real Estate
By Paul Ojenagbon
The new democratic order, despite all its shortcomings, has ushered in a fresh breath of investment climate in the country. More foreigners are coming into the country and there is an influx of foreign capital finding its way into Nigeria especially Lagos, the nerve centre of the nation�s economy. Truly, the Lagos realty offers inexhaustible portfolios of investment in the real estate sub sector.
The investors cut across various income strata. They are both nationals and foreigners. They are high networth persons with lots of bucks to spare or vibrant corporate organizations looking for profitable lines of investment they can plough their extra profits into. Often, they are involved in commercial development. Major operators are the various estate development companies such as UACN property Development Company (UPDC) Plc, Grant properties, Cornerstone Construction Limited, Crown Realties, Rao investment property company Limited and HFP Engineering among others.
A number of public institutions have also deployed their resources into real estate investment. The invested funds are not necessarily their own and often times they partner with solvent financial institutions.
The Lagos State Development and Property Corporation deserves some mention here. No less important are smaller investors that comprise individuals who are in salaried jobs, businesses and the professions. They abound in the metropolis and although their individual contributions are of smaller volumes, the aggregate total far outstrips that of the major investors because we are talking of a multitude. They are more involved in residential development, and most often build for themselves.
An interesting aspect of the Lagos realty is the vast opportunities it offers in terms of locational advantages. There is a location for almost every conceivable category of players. But as it would be, the major operators invest in the affluent areas such as Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Ikeja and Apapa, amongst several others. Investments in these areas pay off much faster because of the high land values. The lesser investors would be found in the semi- urban outskirts like Iyana-Ipaja, Egbeda, Okokomaiko and other places where, for as little as N150,000.00, a plot of land can be acquired, labour is cheaper and easy to source.
Market for real estate is assured. Numerous studies have shown that the national housing stock is in short supply by as much as 8 million housing units. Mindful of this, an enterprising realtor would be galvanized into action. Evidence also abounds that some of the appealing real estate projects in Lagos are disposed off by sale/letting even before they are completed.
Banks have been very supportive of real estate development. They participate in various capacities as financier, equity participant, guarantor and providers of mortgage facilities. Banks in the forefront of real estate financing include Union Bank, NAL Bank, Oceanic Bank, First Interstate, UBA and Prudent Bank, among others.
The prospective investor is also presented with several options of investment! What kind of property would he deploy his hard-earned funds? There are residential properties on one hand and commercial properties on the other. Whichever option the prospective investor chooses, he would be looking out for the market demand, potential income and security reinvestment, amongst others.
The investor would not be less mindful of the constraints such as the limitation of available capital outlay, town planning rules and regulations governing the location of the various investments.
Each of the major lines of investment further presents a scenario of several sub-set options. If it is residential, the investor would be thinking of the accommodation configuration-5 bedroom, 4 bedroom 3 bedroom, 2 bedroom etc. should it be apartment block, attached house, maisonate, bungalow etc. What location would be most ideal? Commercial properties even offer a broader base of investment opportunities. They include offices, shops, shopping malls/complexes, warehouses, filling stations, recreational facilities (such as hotels, golf courses etc). The range of choices is very vast and the locations the developments are put would to a large extent determine the success of the venture because there must be an available market.
Whichever option the prospective investor chooses, he is required to have done a comprehensive analysis of the proposed investment by way of feasibility and viability study before starting the project. This will offer him a very useful guide.
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