The threat of building collapse in Lagos has been attributed by the state’s governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on real estate professionals who do not construct in accordance with the state’s property rules.
At a recent real estate summit co-hosted by the Lagos Business School and the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Sanwo-Olu made this declaration.
The governor, accompanied by Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, Secretary to the State Government, declared that Lagos was moving forward to address the state’s housing issues in a long-term manner.
According to the governor, Lagos will have a population of over 30 million by 2035. Given the state’s small geographical area, he added, this would make it difficult to provide cheap housing for the swarming population.
According to Sanwo-Olu, “it is pertinent to state that practitioners are not building in compliance with regulations, especially about building approvals, environmental standards, energy efficiency, and quality of material.” This is demonstrated by the rising number of building collapses and demolitions that have been documented.
“Therefore, as innovation and quality control strategies and technologies are applied, the need for us as a government to continuously advocate, monitor, and enforce the extant regulations and standards becomes necessary.”
Gbenga Olaniyan, the founding partner of Estate Links Ltd. and the keynote speaker for the day, focused on the importance of comprehending the dynamic nature of the market before discussing the topic of constructing for the next generation.
The greatest strategy for real estate, according to Olaniyan, who also emphasized the need of property professionals basing judgments on reliable data and statistics, is to “think long-term.”
“People who don’t use artificial intelligence will lose their business to it, so it is up to us all to connect,” he declared. As AI is undoubtedly a component of the building industry of the future, we must educate ourselves on it before it completely replaces us.
Three panel discussions with real estate industry experts exploring innovation and quality control and how they will impact the industry’s future were also included in the summit.
During a panel discussion, Tola Akinhanmi, Head of Real Estate Finance West Africa at Stanbic IBTC, pointed out that the previous ten years had seen variable interest rates, which had a big effect on cross-border transactions.
He counseled local real estate players to avoid taking out foreign currency loans, particularly if they aren’t making enough foreign exchange to cover their dollar commitments.
To boost investments in the sector, according to Gbenga Ismail, Principal Partner of Ismail & Partners, challenges including appropriate land titling, tax laws, and easy fund repatriation must be resolved.
He argued that since no investor would put money down without carefully considering the risks that could impede such an investment, legislation ought to concentrate more on fostering investor confidence.
