FG, REDAN collaborate on 10,000 low-cost houses

The Federal Government is collaborating with the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria to develop the recently unveiled 10,000 housing units under the affordable home ownership scheme.

The partnership, according to REDAN, will allow the association to bring its expertise to bear during the construction of the houses. The first phase of the scheme was officially unveiled by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja last Thursday.

The President, REDAN, Mr. Olabode Afolayan, told journalists in Abuja that the project, unlike a few others, would not be hijacked by the Federal Government and expressed the hope that the houses would be made available to Nigerians according to schedule.

He said, “From the beginning of this new initiative, we have been together with the government and all things that were put together, in most cases, reflected the collective aspiration and inputs of major stakeholders like REDAN. So, we are part of it.

“The Federal Ministry of Finance is not hijacking the project. In the past, you discover that people will come up with the idea of including government ministry, but today, you can see that it is a collective programme. What we believe in is exactly what is taking place today,” he said.

Afolayan described the delivery of houses as a chain that involved virtually everybody “from the consumer to the developer and to those who create the mortgages.”

He noted that the demand for homes would not be effective except there was a robust mortgage system, adding that this was more pronounced in the country as the income of many citizens was low.

The REDAN president called for specifics with respect to the housing deficit in the nation, and stated that the shortfall should be backed with data.

Afolayan said, “The so-call housing deficit in Nigeria is supposed to be backed up with data. We don’t rely on what they say as deficit so as to make us invest, no. We want to know specifics. When you say 17 million, for instance, I don’t know the precise places.

“Is it 17 million in Lagos, Calabar or where? We want to narrow it down to the location, type and value of houses that will reflect the exact demand of people. The demand must be married with the mix. We must narrow it down to what you can effectively pay for, or meet up with in terms of your economic capability.”

He said the purchasing power of consumers was what the Federal Government considered through the Nigerian Mortgage Refinancing packages.

According to him, this is done by creating mortgage and appraising the customers that the credit is created for.

Source: Punch Newspaper