The year 2019 wasn’t really a year that most players in the real estate sector will wish for again as the sector ended 2019 in a negative growth territory.
However, 2020 presents a renewed hope and optimism that the sector will witness positive growth projections. Crucial to the actualisation of this outlook is the creation of a right environment by power brokers in the sector.
Among these power brokers in the housing sector are the federal government, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), and the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).
Here is a broader look at the stakeholders that will shape the housing sector in 2020 and some actions from them that might impact the sector.
MINISTRY OF WORKS AND HOUSING
When President Muhammadu Buhari promised the completion of 13 housing estates in 2020 in his new year letter to Nigerians, the task of delivering that falls directly under the supervision of Babatunde Fashola , the Minister in charge of Works and Housing.
The Ministry under him will also be responsible for creating the right environment and strong policies for the housing sector in the year 2020.
The ministry has a huge task of perfecting the National Housing Programme which is expected to deliver affordable housing to Nigerians across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
The Central Bank of Nigeria with its Monetary Policy Committee where the country’s fiscal and monetary policies are decided will be expected to address issues of high interest rate on mortgage loans
The CBN is also expected in 2020 to bring to fruition the mortgage interest drawback scheme and collaborate with the banker’s committee towards deepening liquidity and opportunities derivable from affordable housing and mortgage provision.
The apex bank under the leadership of Godwin Emefiele is expected to broaden its hand of fellowship and also extend the benefits it has accorded to commercial banks to other financial institutions, especially mortgage banks.
The Central Bank of Nigeria should in 2020 see to the complete fruition of the mortgage interest drawback scheme and collaborate with the banker’s committee towards deepening the liquidity and opportunities derivable from affordable housing and mortgage provision.
FMBN
A lot is expected of the FMBN in 2020 especially in the area of National Housing Fund (NHF) which will give more low income earning Nigerians access to affordable housing.
FMBN should build on the present awareness campaigns on how to access and benefit from NHF.
It is also a year that the pending NHF Act 2018 must involve the inputs of all stakeholders including advocacy groups just as all outstanding estate development loans must be recovered to enable the bank to provide more houses.
The bank must sustain the rent-to-own and cooperative housing schemes that were recently introduced and also collaborate with bodies such as Family Homes Funds (FHF), NMRC, Shelter Afrique and others.
NMRC
The Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) under the leadership of Kehinde Ogundimu might use 2020 as the year to introduce technology and innovations into addressing Nigeria’s housing and land use laws while positioning mortgage banks and brokers for a futuristic, fast changing and customer-focused model of housing finance.
The mortgage refinancing company should be able to do this through the yet to be launched Mortgage Guarantee Scheme in partnership with the Central Bank and other stakeholders.
It is a year the NMRC must work in collaboration with the African Union of Housing Finance (AUHF) to gather effective data on the sector. With accurate data, the key issues can be better presented to the government and this might engineer a wide debate and prompt the National Assembly to act accordingly.
FHF
Family Homes Funds piloted by Femi Adewole has a commitment to put 500,000 families in homes by 2024 and in the process, create 1,500,000 jobs.
Already, they have promised to deliver at least 4000 homes in 2020, a move which could start a major revolution in efforts targeted at reducing housing deficit in the country.
More results are expected in terms of the physical delivery of those houses, following the paper agreements that have been signed.
With an allocation of up to N30 billion, the federal government social housing scheme, Family Homes Funds, is expected to consolidate on already made progress in the provision of affordable housing to low income earning Nigerians across the country.
The Fund is expected to sign up on more agreements like it did in 2019 in order to provide more affordable housing to those who need them.
The Fund should also consolidate on its ongoing partnership initiatives in order to tap into the competitive advantages of other bodies in the sector as it moves towards its goals.
MBAN
The Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN) as the Umbrella body for all Mortgage Banks will be expected to act as a pressure group to ensure access to mortgage finance for provision of affordable housing in the country.
MBAN has come of age to engage the National Assembly if necessary to enact laws that will compel the CBN to protect the Mortgage banks.
Development Finance & Multilateral Institutions
Shelter Afrique and the Africa Development Bank will be expected to play major roles in 2020. As Africa focused financial institutions, they will be expected to do far better than what they have so far proposed particularly in the areas of Mortgage Financing and Affordable Housing Provision.
Housing Development Advocacy Network
The Housing Development Advocacy Network will also be expected to sustain its stakeholders’ engagement initiatives and its advocacies regarding affordable housing, housing sector policies and general innovation in the sector.
HDAN might finally use 2020 as the year it becomes a catalyst that will cause Nigeria’s leaders to find ways to dramatically increase capacity and production to close the gap that exists between the supply and demand for affordable housing.
The HDAN is already targeting 2020 as the year to engage in a robust partnership with the Senate Committee on housing on several outstanding bills at the National Assembly.
Some of these bills include the Foreclosure Bill which will legally resolve default issues in the housing sector; Review of Land Use Act of 1978; Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2018; Review of Federal Government Housing Loans Board Bill (FGHLB); Review of the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme Act 1992; Review of Mortgage Banks Act 1989 (subsumed in BOFIA); Review of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) Act 1993;
Others are Review of the Insurance Act 2002; Review of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Act 1990; Policy Creating the National Council on Housing for Sector Regulation; and Securitization Bill and other affordable housing policies.
Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria – REDAN
REDAN will be expected to use 2020 as the year to up the game in terms of advocacy, trainings and programs that the previous leaderships initiated.
If the Association sees to the establishment of the REDAN act for instance, it will professionalise real estate business in Nigeria and to this end regulate its activities and protect many subscribers that have fallen victim as a result of lack of regulation.
Professional Bodies
The professional bodies such NIA, NIESV, NITP, NIOB, NIQS, NSE, NIS, FOCI, APBM, are critical components of the value chain in the housing sector.
Addressing salient issues like increased job losses to more competitive foreign labourers as well increase in the number of collapsed buildings across states in Nigeria amongst other matters might shape the sector in 2020 beyond previous years.
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
If the Senate committee under the able leadership of Sen.Sam Egwu can partner with major advocacy and leading organizations in the housing sector to look into outstanding Bills this will no doubt change the game in the Nigeria housing industry. National assembly stakeholder’s engagement is billed to hold in March to discuss all matters relating to the outstanding bills.
14th INTERNATIONAL HOUSING SHOW ABUJA
Both local and international stakeholders in the housing industry are already preparing for this year’s edition of the Abuja International Housing Show. With already received collaboration of Shelter Afrique, Family Homes Funds and AUHF to collaborate in hosting this year’s event, it is very clear that the benefits will be higher than the previous editions of the Show.
Leave a comment
