Reactions has trailed the recent global report on real estate which declared Nigeria as Africa’s largest real estate hub with market value of about $2.6 trn out of global $650.4trn at the end of 2025 while Africa was said to be valued at $17.6trn (2.7%) of global size

Reflecting on the report, an expert in real estate sector and the Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China,said, the report showed Nigeria and Africa as a new growth area and need to raise the bar .

The global report which was also published in some national newspapers on August 21, 2026, said Nigeria’s property sector would expand at 6.9% per annum, and that Nigeria was ahead with 5.1%, Rwanda 3.4%, and South Africa 3%. In monetary sizes, Egypt is valued at $1.6trn, Ethiopia $1.3trn, South Africa $1.2trn, Kenya $773bn, and Ghana $533.3bn.

China stated that the global report was a big wakeup call to Nigeria to put its acts together and push harder to move beyond the 5% exploitation rate so far.

Mayor of Housing said: “As a matter of fact, I see I see a future where, out of the 95% potential remaining untapped, a 65% potential surge will happen almost overnight because three things are going to make that happen.”

According to him, Port Harcourt is powering faster and higher than any other city in Nigeria. He said Port Harcourt is growing at 30% whereas Lagos and Abuja are growing at 15%.

China, one of Nigeria’s topmost real estate and property entrepreneurs, said Nigeria has a very bright future and has only exploited about 5% of its real estate assets. He said Nigeria has huge potential to be exploited, if certain conditions could be put in place early.

China, chairman of the Mayor of Housing Group, who is behind the upcoming Alesa Highlands Sustainable Green Smart City in Port Harcourt maintained ,said, there is a saturation of market across the globe, and Nigeria and Africa are just starting.

He also stated that ,there is a deficit of trust in Nigeria. “Trusted developers and trusted practitioners are coming up. And the Nigerian system will only get better with the discovery of individuals because the world is becoming a global village where you don’t need government and institutions’ validation for you to be discovered.

“So the more Artificial Intelligence (AI) is bringing down the walls of government barriers, the more trusted individuals will be discovered in Nigeria, and the more the surge of inflow. With the $96 billion inflow that came into Nigeria in 2024, believe me, in the next five years, there’s going to be a surge that will 10 times bigger in a year. So instead of $96 billion, we’ll be talking about $960bn.

He noted further that institutionalization would help boost the sector. “Once there’s proper regulation and institutionalization of the real estate space, more funds will come in. And not just from the globe, but from the diaspora of Nigeria in the globe. Nigeria has the greatest diaspora population in the world, and presently diaspora remittances is at about $20 or $22 billion annually.

“When once the Nigerian real estate sector finds its feet beyond the $2.6 trillion compared to Egypt and Morocco at $1.6 and $1.3 trillion, it will prove that the present size is still nothing, if one factors in the vast landmass and population of Nigeria.”

Once Nigeria settles down, he said, insecurity is taken care of, and then trust is built, institutions are built, and regularisation, there will be a 10 times surge in real estate, and it will continue over the next 60 years.

On global estate ratings, China reminded nations that visibility and records favor statistics. “The most recorded places get the most visible statistical projections and analysis.”

He reminded Nigerians that whereas Lagos and Abuja are higher in rating for estates already built, Port Harcourt is growing at 30% while the other two are growing at 15%. “Lagos and Abuja have more activity, visibility, record than and Port Harcourt. They also have more population.

“For instance, there are over 2,000 real estate developers in Lagos, over 2,000 in Abuja, but less than 10 in Port Harcourt. So where there are less activities, less record, and less visibility, there’s less statistics.”

The meaning, he said, is that growth is important to an investor. “Anybody that invests in Port Harcourt this year is sure of worst-case scenario 30% Return on Investment, while Lagos and Abuja are doing 15%. And one thing most people don’t put into consideration is also saturation. Most of these markets that people are rushing into are nearing their ceiling. The one that is green and untapped has not even started. And Port Harcourt is so green and untapped that the potential is even beyond the 30% being discussed.”

He went on: “I have a quote that says real estate is so affordable when it is green and so expensive when it is ripe. So those that buy green buy the trajectory of the ripening. And even the 30% is like an initial warming-up projection. I can assure you that from next year, projections will be better with better political stability, better visibility, and better activity.

“Records of statistics will start happening, and the world will now know that there’s a green heaven hidden somewhere in Port Harcourt that is just started, not yet saturated, and with greater potential to grow.”

He said the question of rating is more like if you want to use human beings to analyze: “Nobody analyzes the growth of the baby in the womb. Everybody analyzes the growth of the children that have been given birth to. But sometimes, the baby in the womb grows faster than the baby that has been birthed. But because people have seen the birthed baby, nobody considers that one in the womb.

Port Harcourt is just about to be born, and her growth so far eclipses what Lagos and Abuja are doing. And it will soon explode, and the activity visibility will also bring the statistics. So, take advantage of the fact that we are still green and do the three most important things: The tip is: digitize, digitalize, and regularize land administration”.

That seemed to be advice to the state government. To investors, he said: “Quickly align with the communities and the local government to create development master plan for Rivers State and see that people try to stick to those master plans.

“Number three, ensure, ensure that the ease of doing business is endeared for people. And that is only possible by stamping out land grabbing and land fraud.”

He said one local council area in the state was already leading in this charge. “I’m sure people know of the community called Alesa. They’ve created the Alesa Land Development Committee that is government-registered, regulating all land transactions. The Eleme Local Government has created a land panel, which is a precursor to the land unit that will be ratifying all land transactions. Once that level of organization is aligned and registered with the Ministry of Lands and Survey, it will be near impossible for land grabbing or land fraud to continue in Rivers State.”

He urged the Rivers State House of Assembly to make multiple sales of same parcel of land to multiple buyers a serious crime with stiff punishment to set an example for people to stop land fraud. Once that is done, investor confidence will surge, and investors will rush into Rivers State, he declared.

Before the rush comes, he added, there must be a master plan so that the rush does not distort the state. “And with a master plan, the land resources will be maximized for maximum development and maximum returns to be able to compete with global master plans and city organization trends.”

On updates, the Mayor of Housing said the Alesa Highland Sustainable Green Smart City is being built not just as an estate, but as a prototype of global best practices because it ticks all the boxes for global best practices. “It’s a global environment that attracts global investors. It’s a green environment that is healthy. It’s a sustainable environment that sustains itself, and has sustainable ambiance living with the host community, and that’s why we’re the first company to have a 10% equity Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) allocation to the community.

“And it’s also a zero-emissions estate to ensure environmentally friendly and environmentally sustainable enclave. It’s automated to show that it is contemporary with all the whims and caprices of technology and automation and the digital age of AI.

“So we are not only building for Rivers State, we’re building for global best users and in Rivers State. So the aim is to get a UN-Habitat green estate certification and other global certifications. It also has green sustainable power. As a matter of fact, think of any targeted MDG or global building goals, Alesa meets it.

Above all, it still has a massive return on investment for those that partner with it. So Alesa is going to be a model in the next couple of years for the world to look up to on how to build for today and for tomorrow.”

The Mayor of Housing dropped the ‘6P’ formula which he said is very important in real estate. He called it the ‘proper prior planning prevents poor performance’.

The world over, he stated, “Nobody is creating land. God is not making more lands. The difference between land ‘A’ and land ‘B’ is the plan of the structure put on that land. “If we do sustainable planning, plan for future generations, we can have structures that will serve us and serve future generations without being an encumbrance to the future users.
That’s why when you go to cities across the world such as Milan, you see buildings that are more than 500 years old because they served those generations then, and they’re serving the present generation. So the new generation needn’t do any work because those buildings were timelessly sustainable.”

But in most places, he said, you see buildings that are built for only today. “When our children for tomorrow come, they demolish those buildings. Those buildings become an encumbrance on the land, and they will need to demolish those buildings and start building afresh.

“So, if we put in proper prior planning and proper thought into development plans, master plans, constructions, and functionality of what we are doing for this time and times to come, we will now have buildings and developments that outlast us. So, for house of road, build for today, build for tomorrow.

“Africa needs to start thinking transgenerational. And the only thing that will remain, as long as the Earth remains, is the Earth, which is land. What you put on top of it should be, if not as sustainable as that land, at least long enough to outlive you and your children and give value to the third generation. This is because ‘a good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children’. That means every good asset should last at least three generations.”

China believes that once Nigerians can sit down and think, they will be able to deliver that. “And that’s why I say that the only asset more valuable than real estate is the brain. It is time we begin to develop both the brain and the real estate for generations to come.”

The Mayor of Housing advised Nigerian government planners to study the global report deeply and find areas the nation can push deeper to fast-track Nigeria’s real estate and property investment climate for bigger inflow into Nigeria.