“Another problem is that people don’t want their relatives to know that they have money so they tend to keep the whole process secret, forgetting that the biggest investment they can make in life is landed property. If you are engaging in that kind of investment, you must be ready to open up and seek legal counsel. Many buy land without telling people, while some buy without genuine documents”, the director lamented.

The communiqué observed the lackadaisical attitude of governments to the National Housing Fund (NHF) as opposed to what obtained when the policy was newly introduced. It further called for all outstanding contributions to the NHF to be remitted while the statutory provisions of the National Housing Policy should be strictly enforced and applied along with the sanctions embedded in the policy.

The promise of South Energyx Nigeria Ltd, developers of Eko Atlantic City to construct a congestion-free city that will not guarantee street parking and where traffic will flow freely, has been actualised with the development of main thoroughfares and access road in the upcoming city in Lagos. The Sales and Communications Executive, of Eko Atlantic City, Miss Valentina Halim disclosed this in a press statement.

The Lekki -Epe corridor in Lagos is unarguably, the fastest growing construction corridor in the Nigeria today. Almost all property investors, affluent Nigerians and those in the middle income bracket, want to build or own properties in this highbrow corridor. The once dreaded swampy neighbourhood became the toast of property investors following the visionary leadership of Mr. Yaakov Chai who presided over Messrs HFP Engineering Limited, the company that developed Victoria Garden City, VGC, the flagship luxury estate along the corridor.

Nigeria is said to have a deficit of about 17 million housing units. Although this staggering figure has been disputed by officials of the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and some prominent industry stakeholders, what cannot be controverted is the fact that most of the deficit are in the low -income category. What measures should be adopted to cater for the housing needs of this vulnerable segment of the society?

The Managing Director/CEO of Propertygate Development and Investment Plc, Mr. Adetokunbo Ajayi has identified the competitive edge of the company despite the challenges facing the real estate sub-sector in Nigeria. Speaking at the company’s Annual General Meeting, AGM, Ajayi who listed the key growth factors. He said the company would continue to wax stronger irrespective of the challenges militating against the real estate sector.

In spite of a case pending in court, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA through its Development Control, last week, pulled down a structure owned by a a non-governmental organisation, Sustainable Health Initiative, SHI. The property which is worth N85million was located at Katampe District near Abuja City Centre.

“ If government, for example, redirects the policy on pensions funds towards long-term loanable investable funds, it will create the necessary funds that will be put into this kind of construction bank and it will yield a great effect on the whole nation. There are unclaimed dividends, huge resources. If one trillion Naira only from the pensions fund is used to invest in this long term construction development, it will change the entire country dramatically; just to use it to do our railways reconstruction and roads.

Dubai property prices fell in April as a property index in the emirate turned negative for the first time in four years. The residential prices index started declining from the second quarter of last year – in line with the fall in oil and gold prices, according to Reidin, a property information company. The index dropped about 3 per cent in April from the same period last year, Reidin said.

Environment stakeholders have called on all industrial concerns, business prompters and governments across the world to embark on sustainable use of earth resources for the betterment of mankind. The call was made during a one-day programme organised by SMEFUNDS, Carbon Credit Network in partnership with the World Bank and United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP to commemorate this year’s Earth Day.