Abuja: Africa’s Real Estate Eldorado -By Micheal Idahosa

INTRODUCTION

Forbes ranks Nigeria as sub-saharan Africa’s largest economy with a GDP of $376 billion USD and a population of about 200 million people. Abuja as the nation’s capital city is strategically located as it is home to the headquarters of key government agencies as well as commercial enterprises. Owing to its strategic status, the city is highly cosmopolitan as its residents comprise of Nigerians from all over the country and foreigners from different nations. Undoubtedly, it is this strategic status that makes it an ideal real estate haven as there exists an insatiable population in need of housing for residential and commercial purposes.

Beyond its enviable status as the capital city of Nigeria, there are a number of other key indices that make the city ideal for real estate investment and these include:

• Expansive Urban Growth
• Sustainable Economy
• Increased Investment Portfolios
• Adequate Social Amenities

• Expansive Urban Growth:

Ever since becoming Nigeria’s capital in 1991, Abuja has witnessed an increased population with people coming into the city for work, business, recreation and other attractions. According to a 2022 Report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Abuja witnessed a 6% growth in population between the year 2019 to 2021, as the nation’s population grew from about 2.9 million people to 3.4 million. These exponential levels of growth have invariably occasioned the need for the creation of new districts, constructions of roads and enhanced work in the provision of other social amenities. Indeed, it goes without saying that the increasing population has resulted in a housing deficit and thus the need for more houses. This vacuum of deficiency in housing accordingly makes the city a right investment for anyone seeking to invest in real estate.

• Sustainable Economy

In being home to the head of Nigeria’s political structures and the headquarters of several corporate entities, Abuja inspires the spirit/sense of the stability of the Nigerian State. This sense of stability offered by the capital undoubtedly reassures the confidence of local and foreign investors to continually do business which in turn sustains economic growth. Indeed, with a such a charged-up sense of investor security, investing in the capital’s real estate sector amidst such positive economic prospects is guaranteed to yield positive returns.

• Increased Investment Portfolios

From the highbrow Maitama hills to the satellite towns of Karshi and Orozo, Abuja is home to people of different walks of life – the poor and rich; the politicians and masses; the educated and uneducated. The capital is indeed a diversified metropolis. This highly differentiated population also dictates the preferences and capacities of individuals to afford housing in the different areas of the city. Real Estate investors, based on the capacity of their wallets, are accordingly afforded the opportunity of a diversified portfolio as they can decide either to invest in housing for the rich, middleclass or the poor.  Also, owing to its status as the capital city, Abuja also affords real estate investors the opportunity to leverage on the influx of people to the city by investing in hospitality businesses such as restaurants and hotels to cater for the accommodation needs of the city’s visiting population.

• Adequate Social Amenities

In light of its status as the capital of Nigeria, Abuja boasts of solid infrastructure in transportation, electricity, water supply, healthcare and education compared to the rest of the country and arguably other African states. The presence of these infrastructure invariably add value to real estate in the city and thus makes same a viable investment option.

CONCLUSION

Abuja real estate sector is a viable investment opportunity for every real estate investor. The city’s location, the availability of adequate social amenities, a sustainable economy and explosive urban growth are all factors that guarantee that an investment in the city’s real estate is poised to yield significant returns to a real estate investor.

Micheal Idahosa

08187641144
michealidahosa@yahoo.com