Experts in the Real Estate industry in Nigeria have projected that the sector would speedily pick up immediately after this novel pandemic is over. The Real Estate gurus made the assertion recently at a Webinar organized by Boing Luxury Estates.The Webinar, which paraded the top echelon of the Real Estate sector was held last weekend.

Speakers at the well -  attended virtual gathering included Esv (Sir) Rowland Enyinna Abonta, Fnivs, Mrics, Rsv, who is the President and Chairman of National Council of Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers; Rev (Surv.) Ugochukwu Chime, immediate past President, Nigerian Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria and Chairman, Copen Group.

Others are: Ory Martins, Principal Partner, Nigeria Real Estate Partners (NREP) and the CEO of Boing Luxury Estates Limited, a property development company; Temi Alade-Mustapha,Fellow, Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria; lead Consultant, Money Mathematician, and Investors Network and Arch. Patrick Elikwu, FNIA, is the Past National Public Relations Chairman, Nigeria Institute of Architects. He is also Principal Partner, Pelicon Associates.

In his presentation, Sir Abonta stated that Real Estate sector is the only sector that guarantees safety of investment in whatever capacity the investment is made, as it assures the investor of the appreciation in the value of his property within a short period of time. And most importantly, this is the sector that create employment opportunities. According to him, as the world recovers from this pandemic, the Real Estate sector around the world would be in the forefront in the economic recovery process.

“Recently, in the US, the National Association of Home Builders of America stated that the Real Estate sector would provide the most gainful employment for the people. This is because the demand for more conducive accommodation is on the increase. Also, we have many people working in the sector – there are marketers, developers, architects, etc. There are also huge demand for the low and medium income housing as it has been predicted that there are more babies on the way because of the lockdown.” He stated.

Other opportunities in the Real Estate sector are Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country when roads and other critical infrastructure are being constructed.

Immediate past President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, (REDAN) and Chairman Copen Group, Rev Ugochukwu Chime, in his projections also maintained that there would be more demand for secured houses. According to him, people are now conscious of where they live, taking into consideration the location, security and the community. The recent lockdown made people to know their neighbors

“People are now selling their houses and moving into gated Estates/ communities. People also desire bigger homes in terms of capacity and functionality. Therefore, there will also be greater demand in the Real Estate industry” he said.

Speaking on his post Covid – 19 projections, CEO, Boing Luxury Estate, Mr. Ory Martins stated that Nigeria will not be an exception in the scheme of things as the pandemic has altered our way of lives in so many ways. Government, he said needs to look inwards and reinvent the wheel and start producing those things that we have not been producing within the country.

“Less and less people will look into China now. We have to package our building materials facilities, our agricultural produce and make it attractive to our citizens first and possibly, we can begin to export them” he maintained.

For Mrs. Temi Alade –Mustapha, she strongly advised individuals and corporate organizations to have financial goals which they should strive to work towards. And also, people should focus on the way forward by investing in themselves, set goals generally, invest in viable businesses and more importantly, invest in Real Estate as it is the only guaranteed investment of all times.

The Webinar is the second in the series where industry experts come together to cross fertilize ideas on how to make the Real Estate industry in Nigeria better than what it is and to make people see the inherent opportunities in the sector.