A recent survey among 606 real estate agents reveals that 74 percent of the realtors see the number of properties for sale increasing in the next three months.
The survey conducted by Scandic Lion, a Nigeria-based real estate firm, showed that an increasing supply of real estate will continue to reign in “property price increases during the spring.”
On the reason there may be property glut in the most populous city in Nigeria, the Scandic Lion mentioned that the “decreased activity in the property market prior to elections may have led to a larger supply on the market.”
”We expect buyers to gradually return to the market after the elections, and the sentiment may, indeed, improve both drastically and rapidly” comments Rachael Aghunor at Scandic Lion.
Meanwhile, the Lagos Property Barometer creates statistics from individual answers of a survey conducted among realtors to gauge property price expectations. Its wide survey gives a better picture of what realtors are saying about the Lagos property market.
The Scandic Lion is a fully owned subsidiary of Lion Properties, a real estate firm registered in Finland. Lion Properties invests in Nigerian real estate with the ambition of combining best practices from two cultures in order to create lasting value for home owners in the greater Lagos area.
A further break down of the survey reveals that despite the expected increase in properties which will not have a matching demand, 65 percent of the realtor-respondents believe prices will rise in the next 12 months.
The survey reveals further that 68 percent of the real estate agents expect Lekki to outperform Victoria Island and Ikoyi in regards to the Lagos Islands area, while Magodo Shangisha and Ikeja are expected to see the largest increases on the Lagos Mainland.
Also, the sales times of properties are forecast to increase by 52 percent of the agent involved in the survey and only 19percent believe sales times will decrease. “The main factor behind the longer sales times seems to be increased supply, as more sellers are coming to market than buyers,” the survey said.
Meanwhile, the Scandic Lion Lagos Property Barometer is a bi-monthly poll conducted among Lagos based real estate agents to gauge market sentiment. Scandic Lion has reviewed over 1400 real estate agents and contacted 606 realtors deemed as active in the market.
The real estate firm cited that the Barometer should be seen as an indication of real estate agent expectations, and the difference between expected and realized may be large.
Endurance Okafor
