As part of efforts to bridge the country’s housing deficit, investment holding company, Lifepage Group, says it plans to build one million houses for different classes of Nigerians between now and the next two decades.
The Chief Executive Officer, Mr Oladipupo Clement, stated that the housing development would take care of both the supply and demand end of the market.
“We have a goal to provide one million houses by 2041, it will start with the launch of a housing investment fund, and we are giving it everything because we believe it will have a huge impact. By the time we break that down on yearly basis, it will be well over 40, 000. It will take care of both the supply and demand end,” he said.
Clement said that as at 2013, the country was estimated to have 17 million housing deficit, adding that considering the population growth that had occurred within that period and now, the number had increased and would continue to rise.
He said, “We knew quite well that as population continues to increase, the deficit will continue to rise because we will not have enough housing stock to meet the demand.
“When you take housing out of the concerns of any household, other things are easy to manage. Majority of people at the top of the pyramid do not really need housing but those at the bottom of the pyramid need more housing, so the deficit is actually at the end of the pyramid. If you go to places like Lekki and Ikoyi, there are a lot of empty houses.”
He stated that as a company with over 20 estates in Lagos, Ogun State, Abuja and Port Harcourt, 2019 would be a strategic year, as there were many things that had been identified as problem particularly housing.
According to him, apart from developing houses, the firm has also developed products and services that will aid people from all walks of life achieve their financial, business and housing dreams, such as a boot camp where people are taught about investment in real estate.
“We believe that education is important, hence our real estate millionaire boot camp, which is not just about what people can make but how they can add value to the industry,” he said.
Clement however lamented that the real estate industry had remained challenged by lack of basic infrastructure such as access roads.
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