The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Nigeria Group, has called on the government and professionals in the built environment to create an enabling environment for real estate to thrive in the country.
According to the institution, with the rising housing deficit in the country, there is a need for the industry to grow beyond its current status.
The Chairman, RICS Nigeria Group, Mr. Yinka Omotosho, at the institution’s Annual General Meeting and induction of new members, urged the government and all practitioners in the real estate industry to be more innovative.
Omotosho said funding had been identified as a major challenge to investment in real estate and should be addressed for practitioners to operate optionally.
According to him, the economy has witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly in recent times, including the devaluation of the naira, rising inflation and excess supply of houses, adding that prices of properties had, however, remained stable and that stakeholders should take advantage of that.
The Group Head, Real Estate, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Mr. Kunle Osilaja, said regulatory and policy changes were some of the obstacles preventing the flow of foreign capital into the country and the rest of Africa.
He noted that it was important for the government to summon the political will required for the vigorous implementation of all policies and programmes in the housing sector.
