Demand For Luxury Apartments To Crash
The developers traditionally operate in exclusive neighborhoods such as Banana Island, Ikoyi and some select sections of Victoria Island, all in Lagos, and Asokoro in Abuja.
In similar development, it was gathered that operators in this segment, known for demanding rent in foreign currencies (dollars) now accept naira from prospective customers.
According to market watchers, the new move could entice a large number of buyers, however, it still will not crash the high vacancy rates in highbrow areas until house prices and rents in Nigeria’s most coveted neighborhoods become reduces.
Stephen Jagun of Jagun Associates, an estate valuing firm, who spoke in respect to the development, said: “The liquidity squeeze in the system, coupled with the new exchange rate, is likely to prompt property owners in the high end market to rethink their asking prices.”
Although analysts have expressed mixed-reactions on the prospect of the property market in 2015, managing partner, Bosiva Realtors, Fola Obabiyi, is optimistic that the Abuja property market will rebound immediately the general elections are over.
