Expert Predicts Real Estate Boom

An Estate Surveyor and Valuer Abdul Mark, has hailed the reform programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which is aimed at making the nation’s financial institutions to be very solid and which by extention will make funds available for investment at a controlled interest rate favourable to the real estate sector.

Making this known to The Tide in an interaction in Port Harcourt, Mark who is a specialist in property management and the principal partner, A.D Mark Properties said the role of banking in capital formation is very crucial, and that in developing countries like Nigeria, banks provide financial services to the rest of the economy.

The property expert while making further clarification on the banking reforms, economic empowerment and the real estate sector stated that banking sector in all economies is to channel resources from primary savers to investment opportunities, pointing out that efficient banking systems facilitates better mobilisation and use of resources and as such accelerate the process of economic growth.

He said that governments in most developing countries intervened in the financial sector to achieve the desired economic growth, adding that the CBN’s present leadership has taken giant strides in repositioning the banking sector through its various policies that will transform the economy.

Mark who is also a member of the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) said “Finance Linked to construction and real estate ownership becomes a dynamic element of loans and credit granted by Nigerian financial institutions.

He posited that over 20 percent of credit facilities granted to the private sector will be linked to activities in the real estate sector, adding that the over-valuation of property prices and rising interest rates, as well as the increasing difficulty in the attainment of project viability have slowed the rapid growth of the real estate sector.

The expert, however, said that the recent action of the CBN has set off a re-evaluation of credit risks and brought about the tightening of the terms of granting credit to the sector.

He said that they expect a long term positive effect in the sector, even with the necessary changes put in place at the apex mortgage bank, the Federal Mortgage bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

According to him, the most significant contribution to the well being of the real estate sector, will be predicated on financing.

Corlins Walter