How professionals can navigate economic uncertainties in real estate sector

On incremental basis, Nigeria’s economy is passing through enormous challenges with uncertainties in its various sectors including real estate.

Developers and professionals in the sector are, therefore, struggling with some of them adopting wait-and-aee attitude to investment while others, mostly the resilient ones are innovating and being creative in their product sand service offerings.

Uzo Oshogwe, chief executive officer of Afriland Properties, says there should be no dull moment for professionals and has, therefore, outlined steps that should be taken to navigate through these challenges

The steps she outlined were contained in her keynote speech at International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI), Nigerian Chapter’s annual general meeting and induction which had as theme, ‘Leadership and Strategy for Business Growth in a VUCA Economy’.

According to her, leaders and managers in the industry must have multiple future outlooks, contingency plans and data-driven decisions including market research and predictive analytics

“All these have to be put in place and you have to think outside the box and ask yourself how to put things in order. There must be a robust risk management framework. You must also leverage technology and encourage your staff to think and come up with innovative ideas,”she said.

She urged the industry leaders to always be agile in changing things when circumstances change. She also underscored the benefits of sharing data in making decisions.

“We have that ideology; that data should be hidden but if we share data, it will help us to make clear decisions .

VUCA is an acronym for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity which reflect the qualities that make a situation difficult to analyze, respond to or plan for. In the real estate industry, this points to challenges facing the sector.

Meanwhile, Oshogwe urged organisations to invest in research and data, adopt resilient business models, have effective communications with stakeholders and always understand the importance of clear vision in navigating Volatility.

She expressed concern on the poor contribution of the real estate industry to Nigeria’s GDP despite having full potential, seeking continuous collaborations of relevant stakeholders to push the sector forward.

“We must not continue to contribute zero percent to the country’s GDP while other countries boast of real estate as a big part of the GDP growth.”

Ramon Torroba, world president, FIABCI speaks at the upcoming 74th FIABCI world Congress coming up in June 2025, encouraging members to leverage the event and showcase the innovative and construction power of Nigerians, stating that he is proud of constructions like the Eko Atlantic.

He charged for collaboration to identify and solve key problems affecting the real estate sector while advising the young generation in the industry to work hard in the urban generation of cities.

Meanwhile, 26 new members were inducted into FIABCI and were encouraged to put in all efforts for the success of FIABCI and growth of the Nigerian real estate sector.