Stakeholder Tasks Firm On Sale Of Diamond Estate

Following the inability of the Diamond Estate Company to dispose properties it offered for sales at the Diamond Estate along the Ada George/Eliparanwo road axis of Port Harcourt, a professional in the real estate sector, Mr. Eugene Akor, has urged management of the company to reconsider its policy in property development, so as to cater for the immediate need of vast Port Harcourt residents.

Eugene who has monitored the demand and supply of housing in Port Harcourt and its environs, along side properties offered for sales by the Diamond Estate Company, sometime now, noted that they did not focus on the area of high demand, but went on to develop property for the high income earners.

According to Mr. Akor who is a chartered valuer and a member of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuer (NIESV), “Any property offered for sales ranging from N40 million and above is for the high income earner and for the top class”.

He said the semi-detached and detached bungulows offered for sale for N40 million by the developer was very exorbitant and beyond the reach of the larger working population in Port Harcourt, that need homes, whereas the high income earners already have their own homes.

The real estate professional maintained that most residents of Port Harcourt are monthly income earners, especially those in the public service who could not cope with cost of homes between N3 million and N12 million.

He therefore urged the operators of Diamond Estate Company, as well as other meaningful developers to consider the environment and develop properties that can meet the demand of the people in need of these properties, so that such can be easily disposed.

Eugene maintained that investment in housing is a rewarding one, even though the returns may not come immediately, but noted that there is a very high demand for housing for the low and medium income earners, who are eager to own a house before their retirement from service.

It would be recalled that the Diamond Estate Company had offered for sale its four bedroom and three bedroom detached and semi-detached houses as well as block of three bedroom apartments at the estate along Ada-George/Eliparanwo Road of Port Harcourt for about two years now, but the response to purchase was very poor.