Oil prices will rebound when world economies exit lockdown, says Kazeem Bello-Osagie

The prices of oil will go up after economies all over the world exit coronavirus lockdown, the chief executive officer of Hampton-Row Real Estate company and former Managing Director QUO Courier & Logistic Kazeem Bello-Osagie has said.

Already, the world’s biggest economies have recession staring them in the face but the real estate man is of the opinion that as soon as the oil prices stabilize things will return to normal.

“The singular reason that the oil prices have dropped to a record low as never been seen in recent times is simply that the world major economies are in a crisis mode and fully on lockdown, which means that the demand for our crude oil has decreased while the supply of product has completely outweighed the demand for our oil,” Bello-Osagie said.

“While striking a clear balance between reality and being optimistic, the honest truth is that this does not mean that the demand for crude is extinct, as what is happening is more or less a temporal thing, subject to when normalcy will return and the demand for our crude will be on the increase and prices for oil will somewhat stabilize. You cannot divorce the Nigerian economy from oil, once the prices in the world market drop, every other sector is directly or indirectly affected. In a nutshell, the real estate will benefit or will be sustained by the fresh demand for the Nigerian crude oil, once the western world returns to the work.”

He admitted it has not been business as usual as every sector of the economy has felt the devastation of the pandemic but optimistic that as soon as the demand for oil returns, business in general and the real estate, in particular, will be on the up and up again.

“Another key takeaway in the post-COVID-19 era will be the perception and the desire to owning a home will change, as a house is not only an investment but a shelter in the time of crisis. Worst case scenario is that cost of houses will depreciate, but sooner or later it will bounce back when the economy stabilizes. Because this is somewhat a Force Majeure and an unforeseen crisis. A lot of property developers may have to readjust their prices to an invincible market, thus creating a glut in the sector, especially as there will be distress sales of properties. I am however positive there will be a major bounce back for the sector,” he reasoned.

Kazeem Bello-Osagie is from the popular Bello-Osagie family of Edo State. He was born 44 years ago to Chief Shittu Bello Osagie and Mrs Taminoene Amy Bello-Osagie. His father was a Managing Director in Bendel Breweries and Bendel Cement Company in the Mid-Western region during the Second Republic.

He established Hampton-Row Real Estates in 2014 but had actively been involved in the real estate sector for over 15 years in the informal sector, while he still ran QUO Courier & Logistics before realizing there was a major gap in the housing industry in Nigeria, in areas of finishing and transferring real value to the end-users.

According to him, their business model is building mini estates in clusters. Their signature project in Lekki is the “The Domicile By Hampton Row 1 & 2”.