Housing deficit: Realtor laments financial challenge in providing homes for Nigerians

A real estate firm, Big Homes, has lamented the increasing housing deficit in Nigeria, saying house financing is a major challenge developers are facing in the country.

Speaking with Blueprint in Abuja Monday, on the sideline of the commissioning of its new houses, Bello’s Court and Zee Project, in Mabushi, the Managing Director of Big Homes, Mr Topsy Essien, lamented that its efforts at providing houses for Nigerians are checkmated by increasing cost of lands, building materials and other considerations, which has been preventing the average income owner from owning houses.

He said: “The housing deficit in Nigeria is increasing on a yearly basis as those who would like to own houses are delayed as a result of the rising cost of living, including cost of land, building materials, labour, among others. This is as salaries are not increased and people unable to save satisfactory amount to own houses, making things to look like only the rich to own houses in Nigeria.

“Nevertheless, we try our best to deliver affordable houses for different categories of people, in order to curb the housing deficit. We started Bello’s Court and Zee Project about two years ago, despite the many challenges. We are happy that we pulled through to have this commissioning today. It’s a state-of-the-art project fitted with surveillance cameras, automated gate and biometric entrance. With government intervention in provision of lands, more Nigerians will own affordable homes.”