•DEBO ADEJANA, REDAN Chairman, South-West Zone
Talking about a real estate expert who has made his mark in the real estate sector, Mr Debo Adejana, the South-West Zone REDAN Chairman qualifies.
’DEBO ADEJANA, GMD/CEO, Realty Point Limited, B.ENG, M.B.A (Marketing), MNSE, ANIM, AMA is an astute real estate entrepreneur who heads one of Nigeria’s leading mass housing development companies. He established Realty Point Limited in 2005 after a meritorious and award-winning sojourn in commercial banking. The company, the owners of the popular Trade Mark “Sack Your Landlord!” is primarily involved in the supply side of the industry, with a strong presence in Real Estate Development, Investment, Training/Consultancy and Marketing Syndications. One(1) of the less than Ten (10) Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates, UK-trained Mediation Advocate, ‘Debo is an alumni of the Lagos Business School, having attended the Owner Manager’s Programme. He is currently the President of Prime Asset Housing Co-operative Multi-Purpose Society Limited (PAHCMS). A celebrated author, blogger, and speaker, he is on the board of other profit and not-for-profit organisations with a budding interest in social housing provision.
A few days ago, he spoke with City People’s ISAAC ABIMBADE (08155107955) in his Maryland head office, about what to expect this year and how people can invest in the sector. Below are excerpts of the interview.
What is your own assessment of the year 2023?
The world, they say, is a global village and I would expect that Nigerian real estate would also borrow from what happens in the rest of the world. However, we have our peculiarities, for example, the year 2023 is an election year in Nigeria. In every election year, there is always a drought in the real estate market and the market experienced that last year. That’s the expected to still continue up until the election. After the election, people will like to see what will happen and it all depends on the outcome of the election but, by and large, we expect the economy to start picking up maybe by mid-year.
In terms of inflation, it doesn’t look like we are going to have it any different this year. It still looks like increases in prices will continue. It may not be at the rate we experienced last year. For example, the issue of petrol will definitely cause some inflation. Because currently, we have unsettled prices as regards fuel prices and subsidy. Currently, some people are buying fuel for 250 naira per litre in Lagos. Outside Lagos, people are buying it at a higher price. If the price finally settles, especially if it moves from 170 naira per litre, it will impact on the economy and there would be inflation in the market. All these will impact the prices of the real estate market and prices of buildings will still go up this year and affordability of housing will be a thing of concern.
What I expect in the market is that the real estate players will create ingenious ways to be able to engage people at a level they can afford.
What do you tell some of your colleagues and what direction can you suggest to the practitioners in real estate to follow this year?
We have to become more and more ingenious. It’s becoming more popular now to deliver shell units because of innovation, affordability, disposable income, and being able to come to the market at a price people can pick up. That will continue. We used to see a lot of terraces that are complete as shells. We would be seeing more flats being completed as shells because the finishing component is substantial and people would like to offload those properties to buy houses and then they can complete at their pace.
Sizes will also continue to reduce. We have also seen spaces are being reduced. the size of room, size of sitting room, etc. That will continue because construction is per square metre. So, if you can reduce your square metre, size, you will reduce your cost and make your property more affordable. I expect developers to play around in those areas.
People will also migrate; people who will not want to live elsewhere than Ikoyi will likely find themselves in Lekki Phase 1 because they can’t afford Ikoyi.
But most especially, I will expect that more and more fractional ways of investing in real estate like tokenization and securitization will continue to increase in this era. That’s one major thing way to democratize access to real estate investment. I will expect that will continue to increase.
Can you tell us some methods or ways through which Nigerians can make money in the real estate market?
A lot of investors should be open to doing joint ventures with developers they think they can go along with in terms of track diaries and values.
In real estate, you have different investment opportunities. You can buy and keep or buy and sell. You can buy land, you can buy built property. You could be buying in high-brow areas, middle-income, and low-income areas. You can be collaborating with other people to buy if you can’t buy alone. You can do paper transactions in real estate. You can buy shares of companies that are in real estate or buy real estate investment funds. Those are some of the areas people can come in. You can also join cooperatives that are focused on housing or real estate investments.
The issue with real estate investment is this, you can not be specific in general terms on the type of investment an investor should choose. It depends on individual preference. Sometimes, you assess yourself and find out what type of investment you should do. How long can I wait with the money?
Do you think there is an opportunity for newcomers?
The sector is open. Unfortunately, there is no entry barrier. So, it’s open and people also go out of the business everyday. I will just advise whoever wants to come in to first get the required knowledge, otherwise, they will go out the way they came in.
The general election is almost here, which will definitely have impact on real estate. The new 4th Mainland Bridge as well. What do you have to say to all this?
Yes, a lot will happen. As you mentioned earlier, the 4th Mainland Bridge had also created some buzz in the market, as well as the rail line. So, there will be opportunity. All one has to do is constantly watch the system, watch the market, monitor things, and reappraise every now and then.
What is your focus this year?
We are strong in the low-end of the market and that’s our focus this year. We have looked at the market and we felt that we would still remain with the middle and low-end of the markets.
Why?
Because we are a mass housing company. Our forte is to provide housing to people who think they can’t or provide opportunities to people who think they can’t. That is why we have a slogan “sack your landlord”. We encourage people to start thinking about home ownership as early as possible and we provide means and opportunities as we can.
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