Nigeria has a long history of housing shortages, spanning over three decades.
In 1999, the nation’s housing deficit was over 7 million units.
Fast forward to 2012, the number grew to about 17 million units, leaving no sign of relief in the industry.
According to Punch’s report, real estate experts projected that Nigeria’s housing deficit would rise to 50 million units in 2024.
In this blog, the basis for the housing deficit and how it affects the average Nigerians will be explained. Possible solutions will also be recommended.
Housing shortage is a stifling situation whereby the available housing units, ‘read houses’, are limited with respect to the demand in a country.
Putting it in context, imagine you own a retail store of fancy shoes. And you are stocked on just 50 units of different shoes, but you have high purchase requests from 75 prospects. This simply means your shoe business has a deficit of 25 shoe items unavailable for the customers’ demand.
Relating this to the housing deficit, it simply means that there are a lesser number of housing units available for the masses in need of shelter in a particular place, city, country, etc.
Take Nigeria, which is our focus, as an instance, the major causes of these shortages in housing and shelter include: growing poverty rate, lack of infrastructure, overpopulation, urban migration, and slum demolition.
Consequently, these demeaning factors continue to mar the chance of the citizens, usually dominated by the low income earners, owning their houses.
With shelter being one of the most important basic needs of man, one needs no further explanation to understand why this alarming rate of housing deficit must be increased by all means, as much as possible.
Below are the effects of the housing deficit in Nigeria.
The first major problem of the housing deficit in the country is increased poverty rate which results from youths and people living in slums perpetrating several illegal activities to survive and make a living on the streets.
Other effects of the housing deficit in the country include reduced economic growth, increased crime rates, high unemployment rate, and health issues.
However, there is still a glimmer of hope beyond these dark clouds of housing deficits in Nigeria.
Several solutions have been proffered.
One way to ease this dilemma across the country is to develop affordable housing options, either by the public or private players of the sector.
Real estate companies, agents, realtors and relevant governmental agencies are rising up to the occasion, just as they should.
Other solutions include housing cooperative, community-led housing, etc.
Moreso, the best way to achieve this housing shortage reduction ties back to affordable housing developments.
This means innovative estate that uses eco-friendly and sustainable building methods and materials.
This way, costs of housing developments are subsidised to the barest minimum without harming the public.
A good embodiment of this innovative developmental approach is Gidi Real Estate Investment Limited, who have been pioneering sustainable and eco-friendly estate development in the country.
It is important to understand that these housing deficits, regardless of the magnitude, can be managed and reduced across the country.
Major solutions highlighted in this blog are enough to make tangible improvement in the country’s real estate industry.
But they all require consistent and effective execution, reiteration and reviewing.
