Experts have called for industrialised building systems and building materials capacity development to tackle the housing crisis in the country. The experts also urged the development of a programme that creates suitably–priced mortgage assets, aiding market development using optimal funding sources and capital markets for the housing sector.
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They spoke at the BusinessDay Property Investment Conference in Lagos. The Director of Trillium Real Estate Partners, Mr Lanre Olutimilehin, said there is a need to deliver affordable homes at scale with suitable infrastructure services, an industrialised building system and the development of local building materials capacity.

He argued that the local production of building materials is important in reducing the overall cost of construction and creating jobs, as well as industrialisation of the economy. Olutimilehin who doubles as a Strategy Advisor at Diya Fatimilehin & Co., said the provision of bulk infrastructure is central to housing market development, while the lack of critical infrastructure increases the costs of serviced land.

According to him, the high cost of end-user finance, including mortgages contributes to the high cost of housing, pushing the cost above the affordability threshold of most households.

Other challenges in the sector, he said include inadequate income and equity contribution levels for property preferences, high cost of housing construction and limited access to affordable financing options, particularly mortgages.

“In Nigeria, mortgages are unattractive and unaffordable to households and housing developers due to high interest rates and high equity contribution requirements. The mortgage to Gross domestic Product (GDP) ratio in Nigeria is 0.5 per cent – one of the lowest in the world.
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“Most governments are facing huge housing deficits, which is a time bomb waiting to explode. There is a need to provide housing at scale and in a sustainable manner. Access to affordable and adequate housing remains a significant challenge with a large population of people without adequate housing and limited options for home ownership,” he said.

Olutimilehin said one of the solutions to housing financing is the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF), explaining that the MREIF is a solution developed in partnership with the private sector to address the need to deliver housing at scale by deepening the mortgage market and improving housing supply.

He highlighted conditions for delivering housing at scale in Nigeria to include access to land, city planning and building regulations, infrastructure and services, smart subsidies, developers’ finance and end-users’ finance.

Principal Partner, Ubosi Eleh & Company, Mr Emeka Eleh, emphasised the need to reduce interest rates to make mortgages more affordable. He noted that with inflation concerns and restrictive fiscal policies, achieving lower rates remains complex.

He also called for greater liberalisation of development across sectors to curb the rising costs of housing, stressing that regulatory reforms and incentives could help drive down expenses for developers and homebuyers alike.
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