Guardian Newspaper, April 18th, 2022.

HEADLINE: Surveyors Urge Housing Professionals to Embrace Digitization

The president of the Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE), Segun Ajanlekoko, during a seminar of the board of registration of architects and quantity surveyors in Kenya, admonished quantity surveyors, architects, and other professionals in the construction industry to embrace digitalization in their business for more productivity. According to him, the world is revolutionizing with the advent of technology and as such, they should evolve with the technology to avoid being shelved aside. To him, irrespective of the level of technological advancement, quantity surveyors and architects would always be relevant. He went further to advise them to learn vital skills that will aid them in this evolution of technology. According to the CASLE president “Digital transformation is intrinsic to the way of life and work culture of Nigerians. Nigeria’s construction industry must follow the footsteps of China and India by investing in technology so as not to be left out”

Business Day Newspaper, April 19th, 2022

Headline: Real Estate Bill: Controversy as Group Faults REDAN On Regulatory Powers.

The real estate (Regulatory and Development) bill awaiting passage by the house of representatives has caused a lot of arguments as a group known as Rainbow Push Coalition-Nigeria criticized the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) over the regulatory powers of a new body the bill intends to establish.

The bill’s objective according to RADAN is to sanitize the real estate business, they opined that the industry is not regulated and intends to make sure the sector works in conformity with international standards, laws of financial regulatory bodies, and national building code while ensuring that the interest of her members is safeguarded.

In contrast, the opposition group, Rainbow Push Coalition-Nigeria believes that RADAN has so far not been acting in the interest of the group, especially in the face of problems facing their members, and thus has no moral ground to act on behalf of her members. They argued that the industry has so far been acting in compliance with the laws of anti-money regulatory agencies and other regulatory bodies. They also debunked the allegations of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (RADAN) which says that the industry is not regulated.

Business Day Newspaper, April 22nd

HEADLINE: Mortgage Opportunities Abound in Nigeria’s Real Estate – Expert

At the BusinessDay’s property investment conference tagged PRINVEST held in Lagos, experts have affirmed that there are a lot of untapped opportunities in Nigeria’s mortgage sector valued at over N6.4 trillion but its demand is hindered by some factors like unawareness, accessibility, poor infrastructure, security, and government policies.

Some experts like Olufemi Seyi (Chief Operating Officer of an investment company, Casafina Capital Limited) and CEO of Estate Links Ltd, Gbenga Olaniyan, revealed that the Nigerian mortgage sector has the power to drive the country’s capital market and that so many Nigerians are not even aware of these opportunities and without the accessibility of these mortgage opportunities it will be difficult to solve Nigeria’s housing deficit. Speaking on solving Nigeria’s current housing problems, Andrew Nevin (Chief economist at PwC) opined that affordable housing mortgages should be made available to Nigerians and all stakeholders in the Nigerian real estate industry need housing programs that will accommodate the country’s middle class.

REAL ESTATE NEWS SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK

REAL ESTATE NEWS SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK