Experts under the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) have called for the urgent adoption of integrated development frameworks, including Public-Private-People-Policy-Partnerships (5P), to address Nigeria’s deepening housing crisis.
They also urged policymakers to stop viewing housing as a welfare issue, but rather as a critical foundation for economic participation, improved health outcomes, social stability, and human dignity.
The call was made by the President of FIABCI Nigeria Chapter, Akin Opatola, during a presentation at the FIABCI Spring Symposium held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
The global forum brought together policymakers, real estate leaders and development experts, including the Deputy Director, UN-Habitat Liaison Office of the Executive Director, Remy Sietchiping; FIABCI Secretary General, Narek Arakelyan; FIABCI Brazil President, Flavio Amary; Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Senior Vice President, Suzanne Eickermann-Riepe; and President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA), Jacob Caine.
Others included the Secretary General of the European Mortgage Federation–European Covered Bond Council, Luca Bertalot; Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), John DiMichele; Vice President of FIABCI Saudi Arabia, Reem Al-Harbi; and Chief Executive Officer of the National Real Estate Registration Services Company, Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Al-Suliman.
Speaking on the theme “Nigeria and the global housing crisis: structural gaps, practical fixes”, Opatola said Nigeria’s housing deficit currently stands at about 28 million units and could more than double by 2050. He noted that over 60 per cent of urban residents already live in substandard or informal housing.
He said the crisis is not merely about supply, but a systemic failure involving land administration, financing, and construction costs, stressing that what is missing is policy coherence and institutional will to match available capital with unmet need at the speed required.
Opatola identified three key structural failures driving the crisis. On land administration, he criticised the Land Use Act of 1978, noting that it vests land ownership in state governors and makes access to title cumbersome. He said more than 90 per cent of land in Nigeria lacks a formal title, making it unusable as collateral.
“No collateral means no mortgage. No mortgage means housing becomes a cash transaction available only to high-income earners,” he said.
On financing, he said Nigeria’s mortgage system remains one of the weakest globally, with mortgage penetration below 1 per cent of GDP. He added that interest rates of 25 to 30 per cent make homeownership inaccessible to most citizens.
He also highlighted construction challenges, including import dependency, foreign exchange volatility, and infrastructure deficits in power and transport, which continue to drive up housing costs.
Opatola acknowledged ongoing government efforts, including the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, which aims to deliver 50,000 housing units nationwide. He said over 10,000 units are currently under construction across 14 locations.
He also highlighted the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF), a N250 billion Series 1 issuance targeting N1 trillion, designed to provide mortgages at about 9.75 per cent interest, significantly lower than commercial bank rates.
However, he noted that the 2025 housing budget of N11.5 billion for 20,000 units reflects the scale of the structural funding gap. To bridge the gap, Opatola called for sweeping reforms, including digitisation of land administration, faster title registration processes, and the introduction of strata title legislation to enable large-scale apartment ownership.
He also recommended targeted tax incentives for mass housing developers, infrastructure support for housing estates, and properly structured Public-Private Partnerships that share risk between government and investors.
He further urged international institutions such as UN-Habitat, the World Bank, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support land reforms and help mobilise domestic pension funds into housing finance.
According to him, “informality in Nigerian cities is not a cultural preference but the rational outcome of decades of policy failure.”
FIABCI World President, Antonio Campagnoli, noted that housing challenges across countries are similar, including affordability constraints, supply shortages, inequality, and policy misalignment.
He called for stronger collaboration models such as the 5P framework, where governments, private investors, institutions, and communities jointly develop scalable housing solutions.
Campagnoli also stressed the need for clearer measurement of social impact in housing delivery, arguing that better data is essential for aligning capital with real housing needs.
He described housing as social infrastructure, noting that bridging financial sustainability with measurable social outcomes remains a key global challenge.
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