The Covid-19 pandemic unsurprisingly affected not just the Nigerian economy but, global, terribly affecting every sector, leaving none untouched.
From Tourism to Football, Construction, Finance, Agriculture, Aviation and Industrial sectors, all stood still. Real estate business which use to be a lucrative sector and a safe bet from fluctuations prior to Covid 19 could not withstand the shock the pandemic came with, homeowners and tenants felt the negative effects of the virus.
The previous good times in the real estate sector prior to the pandemic looks like been over, it may take some time to fully improve.
Prospective buyers are unsure on if to go ahead to purchase properties, while sellers are feeling uneasy to keep their properties and wait for when transactions will improve, the market seems to be frozen.
With the standstill that was imposed by the virus, many income earners were forced to stop work; low income earners barely survived on pay check, neither having any sort of investment nor better savings to fall back on.
In the course of their staying at home, rents get expired, leaving them at the mercy of landlords who may have an alternative or option of evicting them out in readiness for someone willing to take over the apartment. In a society that already lacks good affordable housing and in huge number of housing deficit, this leads to available houses but few having the capacity to rent.
Many property investors have suffered losses already on the financial sector over the past months affected by the pandemic.
However, with different sectors of the economy slowly coming back to full operations, sellers may start selling but, prospective developers or buyers will be more discerning, cautiously having thoughts on what properties are worth going into.
This means that more houses will continue to be available and with recession looming, cost of renting is not likely to drop.