By Yinka  Kolawole
Estate developers, under the aegis of Real Estate Developers of Nigeria (REDAN), have called for a change of approach and strategy on the part of government, organisations and individuals in order to boost housing delivery in the country.

REDAN President, Chief Bode Afolayan, made the call a stakeholders’ forum on housing development in the FCT held recently in Abuja. He called for a complete overhaul of the current housing development plans, noting that they cannot engender access to affordable housing by the under-privileged.

“The chain of housing development beginning with land acquisition up to final completion of project must be overhauled. We cannot continue to pretend that the mode of operations of government and developers, off-takers as well as all other stakeholders in the built industry doesn’t require synergy in.

“The realities that confront us, both as individuals and organisations with respect to housing delivery in the country, is no doubt daunting and calls for a change of approach and strategies that will meet current realities if we must achieve a desirable target.

Housing supply still ranks low compared to the number of those in dire need of them. The Nigerian housing deficit is still variously put at over 16 million units, which experts have said will require about N53 trillion to cover at an average cost of N3.3 million per unit of flat.

“In view of this, as the principal agency of the organised private sector recognised by the Federal Government to facilitate the delivery of affordable mass housing for Nigerians, we have initiated this project to address inadequacies, expose operators and policy makers; and strengthen our commitment to housing delivery in the country and FCT in particular. We hope to extend this to other parts of the country,” he said.

Afolayan blamed paucity of loans from Deposit Money Banks to the real estate sector as partly responsible for the huge housing deficit in the country. He noted that the loans portfolio of banks do presently not favour housing development.

“Currently, banks are extremely frugal in giving loans either for building projects or as mortgage facilities. This has inevitably denied the poor, who are the target in the social housing scheme, access to such facilities,” he added.

The REDAN president said that some investors at a meeting in London recently indicated interest in investing billions of Naira in Nigeria’s real estate sector, adding that the FCT has been considered as a possible host for the would be investors while soliciting for working collaboration with the FCT authorities.