Estate agents lament drop in prices of property

Estate agents have decried the drop in the price of landed property across Nigeria as a result of the economic recession plaguing the country.

Some agents and developers who spoke with OPINIONVOICES TIMES said that the property market was seriously affected by the economic downturn, leading to huge drop in the prices being offered by potential buyers.

Seyi Sodiya, a Lagos-based estate developer, said there is a lull in the market also because the cost of production has increased.

He said even though people still build houses and buy property, production cost has doubled while the cost of workmanship has remained stable. He however expressed optimism that the market situation will change in the first quarter of this year.

“Yes, people are still buying property, building houses and carrying out projects but the cost of construction has doubled in some cases.

“The only thing that has been stable a bit is the labour wages. We hope that the momentum will improve in the first quarter of 2017,” he said.

Mr. Sodiya, however, described the economic recession period as the ‘choice’ time for buyers to bid for property, stressing that many property owners dispose their asset at lower prices at the time.

He explained that the crisis of foreign exchange and the fluctuating rate of the Naira had no impact on the prices of property last year, adding that it was largely because there was not much foreign direct investment, FDI.