Experts have expressed fears of possible drop in the demand and value of properties in some locations in Nigeria following the heavy flooding incidents in the country which has been described as the worst in a decade.
So far, the flooding, which has claimed over 500 lives this year, has been linked to water overflowing from local rivers, unusual rainfalls and the release of excess water from Lagdo dam in neighbouring Cameroon’s northern region.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency, 31 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory have been impacted. The agency said 1,411,051 people have been affected; 790,254 displaced persons and 1,546 persons injured.
It said 44,099 houses were partially damaged; 45,249 houses totally damaged; 76,168 hectares of farmland partially damaged and 70,566 hectares of farmland completely destroyed by the floods.
A report compiled by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in 2009 said that flooding can negatively affect a property’s value with the impact ranging from negligible to severe (about 30 percent). The report notes, however, that it takes about three years to recover this value.
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The experts estimate that property value in flood-prone locations have dropped up to about 10 percent, saying locations within a floodplain significantly reduce the property value relative to similar flood-secure housing in the same area.
Kogi and Bayelsa states are the worst hit by this year’s flooding. Apeh Phillips, the Kogi State chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, was quoted as saying that many properties were submerged in the state, adding that the areas affected were many.
He explained that the impact of flooding on property sales was high because many people that acquired land where flooding had taken over would lack the confidence to go back to the area to develop.
“Even when the flood goes away, the rental value will be very low because no one wants to go and stay in a place where, after one year, he will be thinking of where to pack to again. If you are speculating, there’s no how people that have seen the situation will not display a lack of confidence to pay even one naira. When you have properties to sell to move away from flooded areas, you find it difficult to get a buyer,” he said.
Phillips said even when the flood goes away, the foundation of the structures in the affected communities would become weak and the buildings might start collapsing one after another.
