Developer hopes to boost Nigerian property ownership
A new concept, known as PREVIS, has been launched by James Cubitt Developments in Nigeria, with aim of helping at least 10,000 Nigerians purchase “liveable” homes. Nigeria is in the midst of a housing boom, primarily driven by significant demand due to a rising population; the country’s housing deficit in August 2012 was estimated to be 17 million. Based on this, when explaining the goal of the PREVIS initiative, MD of James Cubitt Developments, Mr. Oyediran Akinniranye said that ‘PREVIS’ is a consortium of like-minded consultants and contractors in the Nigerian real estate industry. According to him, PREVIS has a mandate to provide 10,000 lifestyle homes for the growing middle class, enabling them to own property by simply paying rent. “We believe that if anyone can pay rent, they can own their own property if they so wish.”

AFTER the purpose behind a newly introduced concept would have been achieved, at least 10,000 Nigerians would have been aided to have livable homes over their heads, courtesy of James Cubitt Developments (JCD).

The concept, known as ‘PREVIS’ is a special purpose vehicle to bridge the property ownership gap in Nigeria.

Explaining the goal of the initiative, the Managing Director, James Cubitt Developments, Mr. Oyediran Akinniranye said: ‘PREVIS’ is a consortium of like-minded consultants and contractors in the Nigerian real estate industry.

According to him, PREVIS has a mandate to provide 10,000 lifestyle homes for the growing middle class, enabling them to own property by simply paying rent. We believe that if anyone can pay rent, they can own their own

property if they so wish.”

On the composition of the consortium, Akinniranye said that while James Cubitt Developments is the promoter, “PREVIS is a partnership with other highly reputable consultants and contractors whom James Cubitt family have worked with over the last 59 years in Nigeria.”

Nigeria is in the midst of a housing boom, primarily due to the great demand created by a rising population. Nigeria’s housing deficit is estimated to be 17 million as of August 2012.

In Nigeria’s urban centres, particularly, Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, recent years have seen a hike in housing prices on a scale that is rarely seen in developing cities.

According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, the highest real estate price rises over the last decade have been recorded in nations such as India, which saw prices rise 284% between 2001 and 2011, and Russia, which saw an increase of 209% in the same period. However, in cities such as Lagos, it is estimated that house prices rose by 400-500% between 1998 and 2008.

A growing number of young, professional middle class Nigerians, have jobs in city centres: This represents the majority of city workers in white-collar jobs. Their salaries are well above the Nigerian average, yet the option of ownership is largely out of their reach.

In Nigeria, the cost of building a house is high, which in turn gets passed on to the consumer in the rental real estate markets. The estimated cost of building a house in Nigeria is $50,000, in South Africa $36,000, and just $26,000 in India.

A recent survey shows that over 70 percent of Nigeria’s emerging middle-class live in rented apartments as their income (N70,000 – N250,000 monthly) makes it nearly impossible to build up the necessary equity required for home ownership, especially with a very expensive, yet largely ineffective, mortgage system. Providing affordable homes for the middle class thus continues to pose a serious challenge for most property developers and professionals in the real estate industry. In recent times, a number of non-professional and unseasoned developers have taken advantage of the gaps in the Nigerian mortgage system. Their response to the increasing demand for homes has been to either provide poorly constructed and laid out homes or simply defrauding Nigerians with the promise of home ownership.

PREVIS, according JCD’s boss breaks away from this pattern and focuses on delivering the same long-term value, iconic designs and lifestyle enhancing developments that the James Cubitt brand has come to be known for.

“We have identified specific areas around Lagos State where the pilot phase of Project 10,000 will be located. They include Lekki Phase 1, Chevron, Yaba, Gbagada and Ogudu,” says Peter Coker, the Director of Marketing and Communications for James Cubitt Developments.

The houses will be delivered through the company’s innovative PROP payment scheme. PROP is a unique product developed to create opportunities for

Nigerians to own Homes, Offices and Retail spaces in the middle market, simply by paying rent. It is a lease combined with an option to purchase a property within a specified period, at a pre-agreed lease price.

Coker, in defining the target market for project 10,000 says “Our target market is the middle income earning family with single or combined household income falling between N3M and N6M. This category of people currently pays rents ranging from N1.5M and N3M annually and desire to own their own property.”