The Managing Director of Big Homes, Topsy Essien, has called on the government at all levels in Nigeria to give free land to developers to help bridge the huge housing deficit in the country. Mr Essien was speaking during the commissioning of Big Homes’ “Black Roof” Estate in Jahi, Abuja on Saturday.
He said financing housing projects is the biggest challenge of developers in the country, adding that others are the stress involved in land acquisition and subscribers’ inability to pay for property.
“Government should make land free or for very minimum cost,” Mr Essien posited. While noting that middlemen were creating a huge problem in the acquisition of land for real estate developers, the Big Homes MD said: “We want the land directly from the government.
“They [government] can put a standard like for example, ‘if you can deliver 50 houses within a stipulated time.” He stressed that when the problem of land is settled, the prices of property will reduce significantly and subscribers would easily access them.
Speaking about the ‘Black Roof’ project, Mr Essien said the houses, five units of a five-bedroom terrace, are smart houses, adding that subscribers paid N25 million two years ago when the project started. He however said the price of the property in the market is now over N85million.
“We have high-level technologies infused in the buildings from the security system to the lighting system,” he said. Big Homes’ target is to provide accommodation to Nigerians in Abuja within the shortest time, according to the company’s MD.
Also speaking, the Sales Manager of Big Homes, Bertha Kingsley, said the company has a promo going on now where subscribers will get 10 per cent of the price of properties. She also disclosed that the company has many ongoing projects in Mabushi, Asokoro and many other strategic places in Abuja.
Source: Daily Trust
