‘Rapid Urbanisation Escalating Housing Demand’

Worried about the surging growth in rental charges marked by high influx of people to urban centres, the Lagos State government has identified rapid urbanisation as one of the most pressing challenges confronting the state while acknowledging that, this phenomenon is not unique to Nigeria, it remains a significant and accelerating trend globally.

The government noted that developing countries, in particular, continue to witness substantial rural-to-urban migration, placing immense pressure on housing availability, affordability, and overall urban infrastructure.

Speaking at a recent Ministerial briefing on housing development in Lagos State, the commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, highlighted projections from the United Nations, which estimate that by 2050, approximately 68 percent of the world’s population will reside in urban areas — a shift that will markedly intensify the demand for adequate housing.

He said: “Cities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are experiencing rapid growth, which fuels the demand for housing. But urban expansion often outpaces infrastructure development, leading to slums and informal settlements.”

According to him, “In Africa and particularly Nigeria, housing remains a critical issue with both unique challenges and some emerging opportunities. Nigeria has a massive housing deficit estimated at over 22 million units.

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“This shortage is due to rapid population growth, rural-to-urban migration, and inadequate infrastructure in many cities.

The deficit continues to grow as the country’s population increases with security challenges in many parts of the countries, especially the rural areas with impacted movement of people from the rural areas to urban centers.”

“The implication is that Nigeria has become the most urbanised country in Africa, with a city like Lagos, growing exponentially. Lagos alone is home to over 23 million people, making it one of the largest cities in the world. While this drives demand in housing, it also aggravates the problem, as the supply of formal housing cannot keep up with the pace of influx from other parts of the country. In the real estate market, luxury and commercial properties have witnessed relative growth and stock, especially in cities like Lagos and Abuja.

“However, the market for affordable housing remains with a big gap yearning for massive investment. Real estate development faces challenges such as high construction costs and limited access to financing,” he noted.

Going further, Akinderu-Fatai stated that, one of the biggest obstacles in Nigeria’s housing market is the challenge of affordable mortgage financing.

“Mortgage interest rates from financial institutions can be as high as 20-25 per cent, making it difficult for the low income earners in Nigeria to purchase a home. The government and private sector are exploring ways to improve financing options.

“The well-known global housing delivery challenge does not exclude Nigeria, and in particular our dear Lagos State. Our country, like other developing nations, keeps evolving with ideas on how to provide affordable housing for a population that keeps growing in multiple numbers.

“The global Challenges of rapid urbanisation, high construction cost, inadequate infrastructure and limited financing options are more real than ever due to an unstable global economic dynamic.

“The impact of the economic shock waves across the world is affecting the low and medium income earners and rendering many homeless as a result of huge surge in construction costs, materials as well as hike in housing rentals. The high migration of low income individuals to Lagos State daily increases the stock of low income earners that must be provided for in terms of accommodation.

“The ever growing population with an annual growth rate of 3.34 per cent within a limited land area of 3,577km2, with one third of this being water, has made it ever more challenging for low incoming citizens to access decent and affordable housing.

“The government of Lagos State under the administration of Babajide Sanwo-Olu realised that housing is a major pillar of economic development of any city. Hardly will you have significant economic development without housing construction with its usual huge multi-dimensional economic values,” he said.

He noted that, this present administration through its THEMES+ strategic policy direction developed sustainable economic, social, institutional and technical solutions to increase the housing stock by targeting the low income strata and changing the narratives positively.

“In specific terms, Lagos State government under Babajide Sanwo-Olu has implemented a range of laudable initiatives aimed at tackling the affordable housing challenge in the state.

“The multi-front strategy approach allows the State government to provide budgetary allocation for the construction of housing units targeted to addressing the accommodation needs of the low income segment across the State,” he stressed.