They also called for a review of mortgage policy to increase housing production
To reduce housing gap in Nigeria, experts have urged governments to provide incentives that will increase private sector participation in mass housing schemes.
They also called for a review of mortgage policy to increase housing production. The Chief Executive Officer, Octo5 Holdings, Mr. Babajide Odusolu led the call in Lagos, during the handover of Heron’s Beak Residences, a vertical community of medium-rise apartments within Ocean Bay Estate to beneficiaries.
He stressed that increased collaboration would make private developers acquire viable land and build more homes to address the housing gap.
Odusolu said there was an urgent need to build homes with good infrastructure, adding that the World Bank estimates that Nigeria would need at least 700,000 units of housing to meet its deficit.
He said: Efforts such as the National Social Housing Programme, set up by the government to make social housing a reality, are commendable. However, funding is a major challenge towards meeting the huge demand, hence the need for more private investors.
Governments at states and federal levels should offer fiscal incentives to capable developers and guarantee off-takers for public sector workers, he said.
He said that the changing demographics of housing demands, require varied solutions and which should not only be addressed by government alone.
Odusolu said that the key to meeting growing demand for housing was to innovate solutions that empowered young professionals and families to own or rent homes with ease.
He stressed that projects like Heron’s Beak Residences were deliberately designed to encourage and meet the needs of young families and many professionals who now work remotely.
Odusolu added that until average professionals could own homes through monthly income or mortgages, the housing problem would remain insurmountable.
He said: When the Heron’s Beak Residences project was flagged off, the off-plan introductory prices were deliberately made low to encourage early investors, and subscribers that took advantage of the offers had positive capital gains.