Abuja – December 06, 2023 – Viewpoint Housing News
The governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has attributed the potential of building collapse in Lagos on real estate professionals who do not construct in accordance with state property rules.
Sanwo-Olu made the assertion recently at a real estate conference that the Lagos Business School and the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers jointly hosted.
The governor, represented by Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin, Secretary to the State Government. stated that, Lagos was moving forward to find long-term solutions to the state’s housing crisis.
By 2035, there will be over 30 million people living in Lagos, the governor said, and given the state’s small geographical area, it would be difficult to provide cheap homes for the swarming population.
Sanwo-Olu stated, “It is pertinent to state that the practitioners are not building in compliance with regulations, especially about building approvals, environmental standards, energy efficiency, and quality of material.” She went on to document an increase in building collapses and demolitions.Thus, the use of innovation and quality control techniques and technologies necessitates our government’s ongoing advocacy, monitoring, and enforcement of the current rules and standards when needed.
Keynote speaker Gbenga Olaniyan, Founding Partner of Estate Links Ltd., spoke on the theme of “Building for the future” and stressed the necessity to comprehend the dynamic nature of the market before discussing the issue of constructing for the next generation.
The greatest strategy for real estate, according to Olaniyan, who also emphasised the need of property professionals basing judgements on reliable data and statistics, is to “think long-term.”
“People who don’t use artificial intelligence will lose their business to it, so it is up to us all to connect,” he declared. As AI is undoubtedly a component of the building industry of the future, we must educate ourselves on it before it completely replaces us.
Three panel discussions with real estate industry professionals exploring innovation and quality control and how they will impact the industry’s future were also included in the summit.
During a panel discussion, Tola Akinhanmi, Head of Real Estate Finance West Africa at Stanbic IBTC, pointed out that the previous ten years had seen variable interest rates, which had a big effect on cross-border transactions.
He counselled the country’s real estate industry refrain from taking on international debt, particularly if they aren’t making enough money abroad to pay down their dollar commitments.
To boost investments in the sector, according to Gbenga Ismail, Principal Partner of Ismail & Partners, challenges like appropriate land titling, tax laws, and easy cash repatriation must be resolved.
He Suggested that since no investor would put money down without carefully considering the risks that may hinder such an investment, regulations should put more of an emphasis on fostering investor trust.
