Experts identify challenges, prospects for real estate investment

Lagos-based real estate firm, Messrs Lifepage, has said operating in the sector has become tough due to fluctuating costs of project development, inflation rates and other limitations.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Oladipupo Clement, stated this at a forum to mark the held in Lagos.

The symposium attracted experts from branding, financial, educational institutions and real estate.

The experts highlighted government policies and frameworks as they relate to the industry, growth strategies for operators, brand positioning and promotions, investment opportunities and partnerships, as well as how to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and funding to the sector.

Some of the speakers at the event included Principal, Alder Consulting, Mr Leke Alder, Best Selling Author, Dr. Olumide Emmanuel, the chief executive of Business School Netherlands (BSN), Nigeria, Prof. Lere Baale,

Clement said despite the challenges, there are several opportunities for making it as a realtor in Nigeria, especially through schemes such as the referral method, which requires little or no funding to get started.

Speaking on, ‘wealth creation opportunities in the Nigerian real estate sector”, Clement said there are four primary ways to play in the space, stressing that these include, being a regulator, developer, and investor being a realtor.

To him, being a realtor is the cheapest way to play in the industry, as it requires connecting buyers to sellers.

Citing the real estate industry report 2020 by Agusto and Company, he stated that the Nigerian real estate industry, as of two years ago, in terms of size, was valued at 3.96 trillion dollars. This, he said is an indication that without any financial contribution from realtors, connecting buyers to sellers will yield them income without hassles, which was a system that has worked for brands in other markets like; Amazon, Nike and others that play in other industries.

A financial services consultant, Senami Amusu, who highlighted how to attract foreign investors for real estate practitioners, what foreign investors are looking for and how technology takes center stage in real estate, noted that funding for the real estate industry is not as straight and narrow as people think it is but, it is a mixture of many things.

Amusu said: “There are four key things investors look out for when approaching realtors and developers; business model, track record, governance and leadership culture and capital structure.

“Real estate has a flat revenue due to static rental income so, investors are looking for practitioners who would be innovative with their business model and remit revenue beyond their rental income. Investors are looking for realtors and developers who portray good leadership culture and inspire their staff to be innovative.”

On growth strategies for developers and entrepreneurs, Prof. Leere Baale advised real estate practitioners to attend network meetings, use social media, concentrate on one market in real estate, keep up with the market trend, and identify a target market and demography.

By Olayide Soaga

Source: The Guardian