By Jonah Nwokpoku

A study conducted by Nigeria’s online real estate marketplace, Lamudi.com.ng has shown that supply of rental apartments in Lagos falls short by 40 per cent. Entitled: “The Lamudi Quarterly Barometer for Lagos’ the report which was for the period between January and March, 2015, was based entirely on data on properties listed on the Lamudi platform by a network of real estate agents and property developers as well as data on search inquiries carried out by property seekers.

Gov. Akinwumi Ambode

The Lamudi website boasts of over 125,000 visits monthly and over 30,000 property listings. The report showed that in terms of demand, over 70 per cent of property searches were for rental property, as against 30 per cent supply, indicating a 40 per cent gap between demand and supply. According to the data, the average selling price of available residential property across Lagos for the first quarter of 2015 was N13.4 million (per bedroom), while the average rental price per bedroom was N694, 000.

The report which highlighted real estate market trends across the twenty local governments of the state showed that the demand pressures on available housing in the central districts of Lagos Mainland far outstripped the rest of the city.

According to data: “Lagos Mainland LGA has the highest market pressure for housing with demand outstripping supply by 18 per cent, followed by Surulere with 10 per cent; In terms of rental property, Yaba had the highest demand pressure on both houses and flats by 15 and 30 per cents respectively. This is followed by Lekki with 13 per cent demand and 29 per cent supply.

“Ajah in Etiosa local government has the highest demand on flats to buy by7.5 per cent, while Lekki has the highest demand pressure on houses to buy with 6.5 per cent. Ikoyi comes second in demand pressure in both categories by 7 and 6 per cents respectively. In terms of raw search volumes, Lekki is the most sought after location for both rental and property purchases, followed by Ikeja in both categories.

“Ikorodu is the district most sought after for land purchases with 12 per cent of overall demand for land, however the highest market pressure for land purchases is in Ogudu.” The report also noted that rental price patterns across Lagos generally mirror sales prices with a few notable exceptions.

It noted that, “The relatively high average rental price (N694, 000 per bedroom) for Lagos is skewed towards the high availability of overpriced rental stock in Lagos Island and Eti-Osa LGAs. Lekki in particular, is overpriced for rentals, potentially a sign of speculative pricing for low demand housing stock rather than an actual lack of available housing stock. Mushin, Ikotun and Badagry surprisingly made it into the top ten most expensive neighbourhoods to rent in Lagos.”

The Lamudi’s report highlights the wide disparities in property prices that exist across Lagos. The average sales price for available property in Lagos Island was N46m per bedroom, more than three times the Lagos median sales price. In comparison, the average sales prices in the southern Lagos outskirts of Badagry and Ojo were below N2.5 million per bedroom, less than a fifth of the Lagos median price.

Commenting on the report at the unveiling before newsmen in Lagos, Lamudi’s Managing Director, Obi Ejimofo said the report is Lamudi’s contribution to bringing pragmatism to the Lagos real estate market.

“We feel it is important for all stakeholders in this sector, whether buyers, sellers or investors to understand the more granular dynamics of supply and demand in Lagos. This report is our contribution to greater transparency and will hopefully guide more data-driven investment decisions which should ultimately result in a more efficient property market in Lagos.”