'How developers can bridge Nigeria’s low-cost housing gap'
Founder of Zeeks Homes, Ryan Ezekiel, has said that Nigeria’s massive housing deficit will not be solved by blaming developers or waiting for government alone. He stated that private developers
Founder of Zeeks Homes, Ryan Ezekiel, has said that Nigeria’s massive housing deficit will not be solved by blaming developers or waiting for government alone.
He stated that private developers are best positioned to bridge the low-cost housing gap, provided land costs are drastically reduced and critical policy bottlenecks are removed.
In a chat with The Nation, Ezekiel emphasized that the high cost of land remains the single biggest driver of unaffordable housing across the country.
“Right now the cost of land is too high so the prices of houses are way higher than they should cost,” he said.
He explained that if government can provide large parcels of land at little or no cost to credible developers under properly structured public-private partnerships, it would be possible to build affordable housing for the middle class and low-income earners at a scale that actually moves the needle.
Ezekiel pointed out that many so-called mass housing schemes have failed to deliver because they have become cash cows for government individuals and parastatals rather than genuine vehicles for affordable homeownership.
He called for a reset in how PPPs are designed and executed.
“Having a subsidized mass housing scheme where developers get large lands at little or no cost and they build affordable housing would go a long way,” he explained. “More effectively designed PPPs would go a long way in solving this problem.”
He also stressed that developers are ready and willing to play a central role in delivering low-cost durable housing, but current economic and financing realities severely limit what is possible.
“The MPR policy is a major stumbling block to developers building consistently,” Ezekiel noted. “Most projects have to be done out of pocket as developers cannot afford to partner with banks to finance real estate projects. This increases the risk and cost of capital.”
"Without access to affordable long-term financing, developers are forced to prioritize quick-turnaround outright-sale projects rather than building rental stock or homes that can be paid for in installments."
According to him, this financing constraint is one of the main reasons the middle class continues to be priced out of the market.
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"If developers could finance projects long term there would be no need to demand outright payment for properties and this would further reduce the entry level as a home buyer,” he said.
Ezekiel urged government to take two decisive steps to unlock the private sector’s potential in low-cost housing.
"First government must fix fiscal policy and bring inflation under control so that building materials become affordable again. Second it must lower the overall cost of land through strategic land banking and transparent allocation to developers committed to delivering genuinely affordable units."
He expressed optimism that with the right policy environment developers can significantly reduce the housing deficit.
“If key housing policies were reformed today what we would begin to see is more first-time home buyers and a huge cut in our housing deficit,” Ezekiel added.