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By Peter Egwuatu
IN order to overcome the housing shortage in the country, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has reiterated the need for mortgage financing options.
The minister in his key note address at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE sub-Saharan Africa Real Estate Investment Trust (REITS) conference held recently in Lagos also stressed that the demand for advance payment for house rent was one of the greatest reasons why block of flats are empty across the country.
He stated: “The need for credit reinforces my belief in the resort to the time-tested use of mortgages as the best method for increasing access to housing for the vast majority of Nigerians and indeed Africans; if we can build the houses in a sustainable manner.”
He noted that it is difficult, if not impossible, for government to provide all housing solutions given the diverse demands. “The truth, which we must accept, is that 100 per cent home ownership is an ideal, but the reality is that, best practices in places like the UK, US, Canada and Singapore are stories of a mixture of ownership and rental arrangements” he added.
He also stated: “With this in mind my thoughts are directed on how to gradually and consistently increase the number of tenants who become owners, with a focus on first-time owners. Our first thoughts and actions are to avoid the limitations of the past initiatives and deliver a sustainable programme of national housing that has wide acceptability.
“The roadmap to this in our view is to evolve nationally acceptable designs that respond to and accommodate our socio-cultural diversity. Having meticulously evaluated some 21 options, we have based on research adopted the following six designs, with input from a diverse team of Architects from across the country.”
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Vanguard
