Nigerians living abroad are fueling a fresh boom in the country’s property market, thanks to a weaker naira, according to Remi Oshinkalu, chief executive officer of real estate firm IFT Realty.
The recent wave, according to the lawyer turned developer, was due to ‘sentimental attachment’ to their ancestral country home and a cheap currency that have made property prices affordable to Nigerians in the diaspora.
“Today, if you look at most estates, the biggest investors, the biggest purchasers are people abroad,” Oshinkalu, whose firm is the developer of Ibeju-Lekki-based Shalom Park Estate, said at the launch of its condominiums.
“It’s easier for them to say $10,000 is N16 or N15.8 million. And somebody says, well, come and buy, pay in 24 months. So the person abroad will probably struggle, but he will make it.”
He referred to the development as a ‘game changer’, stressing that the surge in diaspora appetite for property is expanding access to areas that developers will ordinarily not put in their money.
Remittances into Africa’s most populous nation rose to their highest in five years as inflows rose by nine percent to $20.98 in 2024, according to World Bank data, making the country one of the top recipients globally.
With the naira depreciating more than 40 percent against the dollar last year, many diaspora Nigerians are finding domestic property comparatively cheaper and more accessible.
For local developers like IFT Realty, the influx of dollar-backed buyers is helping to ease financing constraints and offset high construction costs, especially in the wake of the Central Bank’s tighter monetary policy stance.
Read also: Nigeria’s real estate boom reveals wide housing deficits — CEO, IFT Realty
But while this appears to be a boon, it may widen the affordability gap in urban housing markets, further squeezing the deficits estimated at more than 28 million in the country.
Oshinkalu, acknowledging the government’s efforts in reviving mortgage schemes, urged the authorities to ‘expand’ the initiatives so it does not only bridge the housing deficits but also overhaul the economy through its ‘multiplier effects’.
“Massive mortgage, single digit interest rates will change the Nigerian landscape. I believe that real estate can revive any economy in the world.”
Speaking on why properties are far becoming pricey, Oshinkalu cites high inflationary pressures and steep infrastructural deficits which take a chunk of developers’ operating costs, stressing that developers now factor these costs in sales.
He however urged the government to design policies that would bring in ‘developers with a tested record’ and partner private investors to build low-cost housing for Nigerians who may not be able to afford high-end homes.
“Our appeal is that the government should have a policy where they acquire the land, they bring in private developers to build, they get quantity surveyors to give a cost, and they give them their markup because nobody is doing business for free.”
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