A real estate expert, Bright Sekoni, believes that Epe Division will be at the heart of real estate development in Lagos State as commercial expansion continues to spiral towards the hinterland areas of the state.

According to the real estate expert, new opportunities and evolution in work models had affected the real estate market across Nigeria.

Therefore, investors must reconsider where to focus their efforts and which assets might be better for expanding and balancing their portfolios, he said.

Sekoni, who is the chief executive officer of Audacia Prime Realty Limited, also explained that Epe Division was fast turning into the commercial hub of Lagos State and that commercial properties in Epe city typically offered stable returns with relatively low risk.

He said Lagos State government had been very strategic in planning the Free Trade Zone, Ibeju-Lekki/Epe axis and with the involvement of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in the deep-sea port and Alaro City in Epe, institutional investors already had their eyes on the Fourth Mainland Bridge, Lekki International Airport and new jetty which would all be strategically located there.

“The road network and the environment serenity, despite the area being developing, is one of the things wooing investors to the area,” Sekoni said.

He further said that new opportunities would abound at the Silicon Valley of Africa nicknamed ‘the Talent City’, also rumoured to be in Epe.

According to Sekoni, his company was building its fourth estate in Epe after selling three already. “We just launched another one totalling five. We are doing a lot to get more properties in Epe just as we are also trying to document all our properties because scammers have invaded the area attempting to sell non-existing properties to potential customers. That’s why all our properties have titles.”

The real estate expert also criticised the disposition of modern real estate investors towards investing at high-brow areas despite the abundance of better return on investment in developing geographies such as Epe.

He noted that much of the communication between the company and its clients took place virtually, allowing for ease of transaction until allocation days when the clients would get to see their properties.

He advised prospective investors to take advantage of the

affordability of landed properties in the Division, noting that such investments would yield significant returns in the foreseeable future.