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It has been an interesting 10 years for the Lagos property market, as we watched the naira depreciate beyond expectations—from N195.00 to N1,500.00 to the US Dollar today.
The sale and rental price of property has gone up like a hot air balloon. A 3-bedroom flat in Lekki Phase 1 was selling for N30- 40 million in 2015, and even up to four or five years ago it was going for N60 to 70 million. The same property now goes for N250 million and rents for N30 million.
In Northern Foreshore estate in Chevron, you could get land for N70/80 million, now the same land is N430 million. A 3-bedroom flat in Crown Estate, Ajah, used to rent for N1.5 million. Today, it is N6 million.
In real terms, earnings have not doubled or tripled in these 10 years. So, accommodation, which was already in short supply, is now in shorter supply as well as unaffordable to the ordinary man.
The Lekki Expressway corridor has witnessed the fastest growth of property development, in the whole of Africa. Estates are popping up on every available land space. Forget about gardens or green areas; no one considers them essential anymore. The sight of plants and trees is becoming rarer.
Every square inch of land must be utilised, right up to the walls and gate. In Victoria Island, Ikoyi and the surrounding areas, the sale of land is now in billions of Naira or millions of dollars.
Renting is eye-wateringly expensive. Eko Atlantic city, which has sprung out of the ocean and Bar beach, is springing into life, albeit slowly. A famous Embassy, a famous church, and a top British private school are taking root in Eko Atlantic.
The price of building, buying or renting there is for the .00001 percent of wealthy Nigerians or even expatriates. Nothing is affordable any longer
Under Babatunde Fashola, former Lagos State governor, the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS) was introduced for essential workers like teachers and nurses who could pay by installment and bid to buy a decent, affordable home of their choice. This scheme could not be sustained shortly after Fashola left office.
The Lekki Deep Sea Port was opened amid fanfare on January 20, 2023. Situated in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, this port has encouraged the sale of land and property in the surrounding areas. The Lekki expressway from the port to Ajah was rebuilt and expanded in the hope that the traffic gridlock the road was known for would disappear.
This has not really happened. The seaport was supposed to ease the traffic and buildup of goods at Apapa and Tin Can ports, which have turned Apapa, a once beautiful residential suburb, into a slum and a traffic gridlocked area. Unfortunately, the Lekki Expressway to and from the new port is still undergoing construction, and the traffic on that axis is still quite bad.
The Dangote Refinery and fertiliser plants are also situated in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, which has caused the price of land in the surrounding areas, up to Epe, to shoot up.
A plot of land in Epe in 2015 was just N500k; now you will struggle to find one for N10 million. Land in Abijo and Eleko commands N20/30 million upwards per small plot now.
There is no proper monitoring of land prices and the construction of properties now being built on canals, waterways, and unapproved land. The quality of some construction needs to be queried.
The new Lagos Airport is also planned to be constructed along that same axis, which will bring more traffic and a rise in property prices. This axis needs to be monitored closely by the government.
