Nigeria’s strength as the most populous nation in Africa, seen by many investors as a huge opportunity to tap into, could not get the country, which is Africa’s largest exporter of crude oil, into the list of countries targeted by Dubai for real estate investment in 2019.
Dubai Land Department (DLD) recently launched its real estate promotion plan for 2019 which will see the emirate’s property investment potential showcased in 10 countries The DLD explained that the selection of the targeted countries for real estate investments was based on specific criteria, most notably the activities of the investors from these countries.
This means that Nigeria, despite having the largest economy in Africa, does not have enough local investors’ activities in Dubai, although this was not mentioned for sure by DLD.
Meanwhile, the top 10 investors by nationality were topped by Emiratis and Indians, followed by Saudis, Pakistanis and Brits. Residents from China, Jordan, Canada, and Russia rounded out the list. Residents from Egypt were also mentioned as one of those that have activities in Dubai, as such the country made the list.
The DLD 2019 agenda will include the International Property Show in Cairo, Egypt’s capital and Jeddah, the major urban city in Saudi Arabia; round tables for investors in Africa, Europe, and a number of GCC countries to review the real estate investment opportunities in Dubai.
Majida Rashid, CEO of the Real Estate Investment Promotion Investment Management Sector at DLD, outlined plans for 20 exhibitions, conferences, and events in 10 selected countries. DLD said its promotional plans aim to embrace the diverse international market, provide the best marketing solutions for developers and brokers, and help all parties acquire knowledge of various trends.
Butti Mejren, director general of DLD, said in a statement that “this year has already been an active year for us after having received a huge delegation from the US and Singapore. These activities will continue throughout the year to progress upon the success we achieved in previous years.”
He further mentioned that there are many aspects that deserve to be highlighted in Dubai real estate market; this he said “will help us achieve the desired results. Dubai remains at the forefront for global investors.”
According to DLD, it will be participating in the 30th edition of MIPIM, an international property event, which is usually a 4-day real estate exhibition, conference and networking programme, gathering about 24000 international property professionals and it is hosted by the French city of Cannes every March.
In addition, DLD will participate in the Dubai Property Festival, the Asian Real Estate Association of America, the Annual Investment Forum in Dubai, Cityscape Global 2019, the London Property Investor Show, the London Real Estate Forum, the 19th Luxury Properties Showcase, and the Beijing Overseas Property & Investment Show as well as in other activities in Germany, the US, and the UAE.
In October 2018, DLD said that it had recorded real estate deals worth $44.1 billion during the first nine months of 2018. This is higher than Nigeria’s foreign reserve of $43.17 billion reported in January 2019.
The figures represented a fall of more than 20 percent compared to the same period last year. Although the total number of transactions rose by over 2,000 to 39,802.
Meanwhile, Nigeria with an annual population growth rate of about 3 percent requires above 17 million housing units to meet its housing needs. Therefore, investment in the country’s real estate would have been a welcome development given that the sector has reported contraction for 11 consecutive quarters through to Q3 2018.
According to figures from the state funded National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigerian property market reported growth of -2.68 percent in Q3 2018 as against the -3.88 percent and -9.40 percent reported for Q2 and in Q1 2018 respectively.
Industry experts say the impact of the improvements in the wider economy was not much on the real estate sector which was challenged by oversupply, high vacancy rates coupled with the fact that large portion of the country’s population are outside the housing market and mortgage still remains too expensive for many people to access and afford.
Endurance Okafor
