PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria has stated that Nigeria may have dead capital stashed away in residential and agricultural real estate valued up to $900 billion.
The PUNCH reported that this was said in a recent research by the worldwide professional services network titled “Nigeria Economic Outlook: Seven trends that will shape the Nigerian economy in 2024.”
It was mentioned that the Federal Government’s abandoned property, valued at an estimated N230 billion, was part of the nation’s dead capital.
Dead capital is the term used for assets or property that is difficult to put to profitable use, frequently because of institutional or legal constraints.
In Nigeria’s real estate market, dead capital is also a result of ineffective legislative frameworks, corruption, and bureaucratic processes.
The survey estimates that Nigeria will have a 28 million unit housing deficit this year, with 223.8 million people projected to live there.
It was observed that despite the massive housing gap, the demand for housing remained low because of rising construction and rental costs as well as dropping disposable incomes.
Part of it read, “According to PwC estimates, Nigeria could have dead capital worth up to $900 billion locked up in residential real estate and agricultural land, including the estimated N230 billion in Federal Government abandoned properties.”
Many properties in Nigeria have informal or undocumented land titles, which makes it challenging for owners to establish their ownership and make the most of their assets’ value.
Through a number of reforms and partnerships with stakeholders, the Federal Government unveiled its plans last October to unleash nearly $300 billion (an earlier estimate) in “dead” money in the housing industry.
The government justified the action as a component of its attempts to alleviate the nation’s housing shortage and improve investment and financing prospects for sustainable real estate developments.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, revealed the news at the Abuja Capacity Development Conference for Developers.
Along with changes to important organisations like the Federal Housing Authority and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, he presented plans to revise the Land Use Act to simplify land administration.
“In line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision, we are dedicated to creating a conducive environment for increased private sector investment in housing,” the minister stated
