A Real Estate Economist, Mr Benjamin Onigbinde, has advocated the establishment of Bureau of Real Estate Information where buyers can confirm the status including legality of the transaction before purchase.
The bureau, according to him, will tackle the influx of the fake estate developers in the country.
The housing sector aside battling with huge housing deficits is also experiencing the influx of fake real estate developers.
Onigbinde in an exclusive interview with Blueprint also called on the Consumer Protection Agency (CPC) to rescue the sector from the activities of fraudster.
He said: “For real estate industry, the basic truth is that there is free entry and exit with no proper regulation. This allows fraudulent practitioners in the industry; I believe this can be remedied if we have established Bureau of Real Estate Information where buyers can confirm the status including legality of the transaction before purchase.
“There is also the need for protection of home buyers by such agency like Consumer Protection Agency; this will help control the influx and activities of fraud stars in the industry’’.
On how government should close the huge housing deficits, Onigbinde said: “There is the need for bottom- up approach to bridge housing gap. The deficit is more pronounced at the urban center where we have highest population and concentration of workers who provide essential public services like security, journalism, health workers, and other utility service providers.
“These categories of workers earn less that makes it difficult for them to acquire accommodation close to their working place which affects their level of productivity. In this regards, there is the need for creation of more sub-urban residential development, and provision of infrastructures as well as a workable acquisition plan for the beneficiaries.
“There is also the need to redesign the housing zoning formula at our urban centers such that Big Villas in high net-worth neighborhood can be converted to affordable housing apartments’’.
