The rate of low house ownership in Nigeria has been a point of concern, especially for the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN). The country is in the last rank, particularly when compared with countries like South Africa (70 percent), Brazil (74 per cent), Kenya (75 percent), and Indonesia (84 percent). During this year’s World Habitat Day occasion themed: “Mind the Gap: Leave No One and Place Behind”, Dr. Victor Onukwugha, the President of AHCN said that it was saddening that even Nigeria at the age of 62, the country remained overwhelmed with confusion concerning how to improve the housing sector.
He affirmed that some of the problems that are ravaging the country’s housing sector include an inappropriate mortgage processes that still largely relies on the outright sale of buildings that people who really need them can’t afford to purchase them; lack of finance for housing; lack of housing; unused funds in the system which are kept and put in treasury bills and fixed deposits, which instead of helping people in need, generate self-centered income to the pockets of wealthy individuals.
Nigeria has natural resources that can be used for building materials.
More so, Dr. Onukwugha shows his displeasure about the high cost of acquiring building materials that even when we have a large deposit of natural resources that can enhance the production of quality local building materials, inadequate policy implementation has been one of the major challenges in the sector. According to him, the industry is being held back by a number of factors, including a stagnant mortgage market, an inadequate exit point for developers who have made housing investments, and a lack of a land administration system that provides adequate access to viable real estate transactions.
It is without a doubt that the sector is profitable with opportunities of varying kinds; the question is, what has been done as an individual and as stakeholders to make sure that these opportunities will be turned into gains to address the housing issues that we currently face? Also, nothing has been done on the post-COVID-19 Economic Sustainable Plan which entails the aim of creating 1.8 million jobs within 12 months and the 300,000 new homes that were supposed to be built in the following two years,
The government is yet to fulfill its promise on the housing sector.
Dr. Victor continued that when the current administration took office in 2015, it made a commitment to the people that it would build one million new homes in its first year in office and two million new homes thereafter. In addition, it guaranteed to create a successful mortgage system that would only charge a single interest rate in order to encourage individuals to purchase their own homes. He wondered what the total number of housing units can be developed in the market.
Speaking on the same, Architect Gabriel Aduku, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of AHCN said that housing should be treated as a basic need on an equal level with food, and therefore, he called on the government to encourage those in the private sector to develop it. He went on to say that the sector’s lack of effective policy implementation was to blame for the country’s persistent deficit in this area, despite the fact that subsequent governments could have easily closed the gap if they had expanded upon President Shehu Shagari’s housing program. Aduku, who is also a former Minister of State for Health, added that housing had the potential and ability to boost the country’s economy.
The housing institutions also need to fulfill their responsibilities.
In order for institutions such as the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), the Urban Development Bank, Federal Mortgage Finance Ltd, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, amongst others to fulfill their primary responsibilities, the government need to fortify, challenge, and closely monitor these institutions. This suggests that there is a need for constant re-engineering of the financial and capital markets in order to deal with the renewed challenges of providing some housing financing.
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The probability of you owning a home by yourself or through the government is low because the cause of building house is exhausting,and the government own that can be better is also exhorbitant and the process is cumbersome.
It is ironical that we are surprised of this statistics. How many Nigerians can afford 3 square meals daily not to talk of ownership of a house. People are living in abject poverty in Nigeria and it is unfortunate enough things are not done to bring people out of it.
The rate of poverty is high to eat is really difficult talkless of owning a house in other to build a house all the material are expensive to afford so for the citizen to own a house will be a hard thing to do
Concerns have been raised about the low rate of home ownership in Nigeria, particularly by the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria (AHCN).
A slow mortgage market, an unsuitable exit point for developers with housing investments, and a lack of a land administration system hinder the business.
This statistics is through because of the inflation rate and the wages collected by working is very small compare to other countries,it’s very difficult for anyone working under government to save money for building of his/her own house.
With the poverty level in the country, home ownership rate will be low. People are striving to feed, their priority is to survive daily.
The government is responsible for this. Policies should be create to favor house acquisition. Funding should also be made available to enable construction.
Why won’t home ownership be having a very low rate in Nigeria when we have selfish and bad political leaders.Let the government made house acquisition in Nigeria.
It is not surprising to see that the home ownership rate is low. Poverty and the deteriorated economy are a major contributor to this issue.
Standard of living in this country is very high. Nigerians has always manage to survive without government support. Feeding is too high, Education is too high, health product is too high, every thing in Nigeria is over high, very hard way to making it. Then how can somebody building it own house with all this hardship
it’s very difficult for anyone working under government to save money for building of his/her own house.
Concerns have been raised about the low rate of home ownership in Nigeria, particularly by the Association of Housing Corporations of Nigeria.
It was disheartening to learn that even at the age of 62, Nigeria had not found a solution to the overwhelming level of misunderstanding that existed over how to enhance the housing sector.
The unsuitable mortgage processes that still primarily rely on the outright sale of buildings that people who actually need them are unable to afford to acquire are only one of the problems that are wreaking havoc on the nation’s housing sector.
lucrative and replete with chances of varying kinds, but the question is: what have individuals and stakeholders done to ensure that these opportunities will be converted into profits to address the housing difficulties that we are currently facing
an inadequate exit option for developers who have made housing investments, as well as the absence of a land administration system that offers enough access to commercially viable real estate deals
The persistent deficit that the country experienced in this field was a direct result of ineffective policy implementation in the sector.
It is quite onerous for anyone working for the government to accumulate money for the construction of his or her own house; nonetheless, people will build houses when things become easier.
Inadequate access to feasible real estate transactions due to a lack of a land administration system.
One issue wreaking havoc on the country’s housing sector is the inappropriate mortgage procedures that still predominantly rely on the outright sale of buildings that individuals who truly need them are unable to pay to obtain.