In this interview, Osonuga Oluwatobi, managing director of Chateau Royal Real Estate Limited tells BusinessDay’s Frank Eleanya, how the company is addressing the housing deficit in Nigeria and what the country and private players need to do to make housing more affordable for low and middle income earners.
From the name ‘Chateau Royal Real Estate Limited’, it appears you only target high-end consumers, is that correct?
At Chateau Royal Real Estate Limited, we give preference to all class in need of housing by providing affordable options, flexible payment plans with great value for investment. We are a solution providing real estate firm giving consideration to all levels from the low, mid and high-income earners.
What gap is Chateau Royal Real Estate hoping to fill in the real estate sector in Nigeria?
With our years of experience in real estate development, we came into developing to bridge the gap between consumers’ wants and affordability. We do not intend to impose design but give the system and support for investors to build to taste in a well infrastructure and maintained estate.
How are you addressing the challenge of limited consumer income which affects real estate businesses?
Based on collective data on field, we realized that large scales of interested investors are young chaps who understand the necessity of housing. But we also realized that these investors have limited income so we devised a strategy of a flexible payment plan that helps and enables them purchase at a very pocket friendly rate. We are committed to advancing lives by providing best real estate solutions that exceed the expectations of our stakeholders.
How do you deal with affordability?
My thought on affordable housing is simple. Low- and middle-class earners should be able to have where they can call their own without breaking the bank. Housing is very crucial given the radical increase in our population. For everyone to have access to housing, it must be affordable even the high earners delight in a good housing and it must be affordable with flexible payment plans options and investment instruments to help cushion the impact. We believe strongly in this and the government has a huge role to play in its actualization. As a necessity, the purchasing cost should be considerable and not over valued to allow middle-class Nigerians to benefits. That is why at Chateau-Royal Real Estate Limited, we are committed to giving young minds investment opportunities to own a piece of affordable luxury, be a part of investors and smile in the nearest future by boasting “I have got a shrewd investment”. We currently have 2 fast selling projects Maplewoods Ibeju-Lekki with initial deposit of N100,000/plot and a promo of Buy 5 Get 1 free with a 12 months flexible payment plans. There is also Peach Palms Abijo GRA.
Do you have any products for millennial?
Yes, definitely we do, we are generational. Our major achievements are the rate our estates are fast selling within and in Diasporas. Our projects at Maplewoods Ibeju and Peach Palms are definitely suitable for them.
What do you find as the biggest challenge in real estate and how are you addressing it?
One major challenge we face in the industry is the distance between the government and our sector. We also face the challenge of non-encouraging government policies and limited access to housing funds. As a real estate firm, one major strategy we have deployed to address these challenges is to make available affordable estates with flexible payment plans options. We also encourage discussions with the government every time the opportunity presents itself for furtherance of the sector.
What are the trends you are seeing in the market and where do you see the market going to?
In the last few years, the sector has experienced a positive turn and has contributed immensely great quota to the growth and development of the Nigeria economy. I can assure you the future is bright if the government can consciously encourage private players within the sector with flexible and robust policies. This can help deflate the housing deficit reasonably. Moreso we are going to patent future revolutionary trends in the sector that is going to have skeptics and admirers talking for a long time; we are currently investing in technology and innovations not currently seen in the sector.
How can developers solve these reoccurring situations of substandard building in the country, what can be done to improve this?
This is one major challenge the industry has been facing over the years. A lot affect the standard of housing like drastically unstable cost of various building materials. This is a two-way challenge. I want to use this medium to encourage my fellow players in the industry not to take decisions in greed and for investors to be true in valuing what is being invested in. This would go a long way in reducing the event of substandard deliveries in the industry. Also, players in the industry should try to keep to their words in terms of time; design; layout; and facility delivery so as not to create a negative notion in the mind-set of investors.
What is your innovation strategy and what makes you unique from the others?
The Nigerian market is very attractive and we are bringing investors from diaspora and within the shores to help us actualize both our long term and short-term goals. Also, we are partnering with some financial institutions to help access the best of mortgage facilities possible to our subscribers. There are also lots of other freebies targeted at the family and individual constituents of families as give away when you begin to subscribe with us. Innovations in the sector can be witnessed mainly in structure and facility delivery. As a key player in the industry, we want to play our part in improving good service delivery e.g. estate time-line delivery, eco-friendly environment and also focus on affordable luxury which is the reason for the birth of Maplewoods Ibeju Lekki and Peach Palms Abijo GRA. We are very intentional in making sure that we deliver on all our promises to all subscribers.
Access to mortgage has remained a huge problem in Nigeria and an almost impossible task to achieve. What solutions are you proposing? Do you work with mortgage institutions in your projects? What can you recommend to the government with your experience in the real estate?
As regards access to mortgage, I would recommend a single digit interest rate. Currently we have several mortgage facilities partners with us on our projects. I also recommend a more flexible policy from financial institutions and government to help cushion the housing deficit in the country to also encourage sector players and investors with friendly policies.
Players in the real estate sector have been blamed for not meeting the needs of the changing time? How true is this?
To some degree true and some larger degree, not true. However an ever focused team driven by innovation, latest building technology, and trends around the world in the sector has been engaged by us giving birth to some innovations milestones. I will also say that the sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of this economy given its immense contribution to the growth and development. Though this sector is highly competitive and this is due to the different efforts and innovations various developers bring into play.
Lack of accurate data has remained a major issue for players in the industry. How does it affect your company and what do you think can be done to resolve this?
Data research and collection is crucial and highly needed for proper planning. Inadequate statistics does not only affect the real estate sector only but it affects all other sector of the economy. Accurate data collection helps the sector in determining what exactly is needed in terms of structures as well as facilities by the investors in the sector. Although I commend the efforts of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, a simple way of doing this is to be present effectively at all level of government. This would help in accuracy and consistency of data collection that would aid private players within the sector and the federal government in planning.
What do you find as the biggest challenge in real estate and how are you addressing it?
One major challenge we face in the industry is the distance between the government and our sector. We also face the challenge of non-encouraging government policies and limited access to housing funds. As a real estate firm, one major strategy we have deployed to address these challenges is to make available affordable estates with flexible payment plans options. We also encourage discussions with the government every time the opportunity presents itself for furtherance of the sector.
What new trends are you seeing in the real estate sector and where do you think we will be in the next 5 to 10 year?
In the last few years, the sector has experienced a positive turn and has contributed immensely great quota to the growth and development of the Nigeria economy. I can assure you the future is bright if the government can consciously encourage private players within the sector with flexible and robust policies. This can help deflate the housing deficit reasonably. Moreso we are going to patent future revolutionary trends in the sector that is going to have skeptics and admirers talking for a long time; we are currently investing into technology and innovations not currently seen in the sector.
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