…As estate firm marks 5th anniversary, pledges to address housing deficit
Deji Fasuwon, managing director of Hontar Projects Limited, has called on the federal government to provide infrastructure, tackle the fluctuating exchange rate to help developers and real estate firms tackle the housing deficit in the country.
Fasuwon stated this at an event specifically organised to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Hontar projects in Ikeja.
Fasuwon, a trained lawyer stressed that the current interest rate has made funding and developing property increasingly difficult, noting that there was the need for support from the government for practitioners in the sector.
“One of the things that the government can do is to provide long-term funding for house acquisition. But the situation where we have interest rates at 10%, 20% and 30% make things very difficult.
He further said that part of the challenge affecting the affordability of housing in Nigeria was because large chunk of the nation’s building materials is imported; stressing that this was imparted by the exchange rate.
“The major challenge we have is that we are a consuming nation, rather than a producing nation. The large chunk of our building materials is imported; it is imparted by the exchange rate” Fasuwon said.
According to him, “We have been experiencing hyper-inflation, it is imparting on the cost of construction. Sadly, the earning and purchasing power of people is not matching, the way the inflation is moving. So, it is making affordability of housing difficult”.
He stated that the firm had sustained and maintained integrity over the last five years because it is able to deliver projects on time to customers.
He said: “For us, it is a fact that we deliver our projects on time. If we tell you that this project we are going to do, is going to take us X number of years, you can go and sleep, because when the time is due, we will hand over the keys to your property.
“And in terms of policy, we allow people to journey with us in the construction process. So the moment we commence construction, we invite you to site. And that’s why we’ve been able to deliver five projects in five years”.
Clients, partners and realtors present at the event testified to the real estate firm’s strides and integrity over the last five years.
Speaking at the event, Martins Awofisayo, Managing Director, Harvestfield Industries Limited, who was awarded at the event with the “Advocate award” attested to real estate firm’s integrity and trust in delivering projects.
Awofisayo while advising off-plan subscribers, urged them to be on the lookout for defrauders when patronising developers.
“Having burnt my fingers in the past, I have monitored Hontar Projects for a long time and I can attest to their credibility in delivering projects on schedule timeline,” he said.
The five years celebration drew industry leaders, real estate professionals, partners, clients, and media representatives, while awards were given out to loyal clients and dedicated staff.
