TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER (JANUARY 10TH, 2023)

Headline: Land Use Act Must Be Amended to Reflect Modern Realities —Ubosi

Chudi Ubosi, a fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) and a past President of the Africa Chapter of the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, opined that the Land Use Act should be amended to reflect modern realities as regards the real estate industry and its operations. According to Mr. Ubosi, the real estate sector continues to show resilience and contribute to the nation’s economic development despite the challenges with unfavoUrable government policies and actions concerning the real estate sector.

He stated that Nigeria still battles with the problem of land ownership and that the Land Use Decree is one of the major problems hindering the explosion of real estate development in Nigeria. He further stated that the government needs to draw up policies that will encourage private sector participation in the real estate sector and also bring down the prices of real estate by opening up more suburbs and servicing them with the necessary infrastructure. He also called on the government to reform the Land Use Act to reflect the modern realities concerning real estate, titling, ownership, development, sale, and purchase. He noted that this will virtually increase the sector’s contribution to the GDP of the country.

TRIBUNE NEWSPAPER (JANUARY 10TH, 2023)

Headline: Sanwo-Olu to Lagosians: Don’t Embark On Physical Development Without Following Due Process

The governor of Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to all Lagosians to refrain from commencing any form of physical development without following due process and procedures. He urged the people to continue to support his administration by obeying the state’s physical planning and other laws.

The governor during the celebration of the 2022 World Habitat Day at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa disclosed that his development blueprint THEMES Agenda has been critical in maintaining social equilibrium and harmony in the state.

The governor through his representative, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, the Secretary to the State Government noted that several institutions have been set up to address the socio-economic disparity and champion the on-par development of Lagos and its people.

THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER (JANUARY 16TH, 2023)

Headline: Nigeria Ranked Low in Global Real Estate Transparency Index

According to the Guardian newspaper, Nigeria scored low in the 2022 Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) released by JLL and LaSalle Investment Management. Nigeria ranked 60 out of the 156 cities across 94 territories that were covered globally.

The report revealed a wide transparency gap as leading countries continue to set higher standards, from new regulations covering energy efficiency and emission standards for buildings and climate risk reporting; to raising the bar for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and beneficial ownership reporting. Pressure has also continued to grow for the real estate industries to meet up with the decarbonization Sustainability challenge as sustainability is one of the biggest drivers of transparency improvement across markets in GRETI 2022.

In Nigeria, the establishment of the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority and the development of an online portal for planning applications aided Nigeria in gaining some ground in the latest rating. However, some experts believe that Nigeria can do better in ranking if there is a conscious and coordinated effort in building the real estate data infrastructure, enthroning a cashless economy, optimizing development approval and control processes, liberalizing issuance of property titles, and establishing title registry, securitizing real estate assets and adopting technology in the real estate development.

Yemi Adelakun, the Managing Director of NISH Affordable Housing Limited opined that the shortage of vital data is one of the things responsible for the low ranking of Nigeria in the index.

The Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Lagos State branch, Mr. Gbenga Ismail noted that the Nigerian property marketplace is not clear and consistent, he, therefore, called for improvement in the land registry, consent process, regulation, and data capture. He opined that once there is consistency, then transparency flows naturally.

The Chief Executive Officer of LaSalle Investment Management, Mark Gabbay stated that transparency is the bedrock that allows corporate occupiers, investors, and lenders to operate and make decisions with confidence.

JANUARY-REAL ESTATE NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

JANUARY-REAL ESTATE NEWS HIGHLIGHTS