HOW TO JUDGE A NEIGHBORHOOD'S QUALITY OF LIFE

Location is a huge factor in successful homeownership. Just a mile—in some cases just a city block—can make a difference in home values, health risks, crime and the general quality of life for you and your family.
Everyone has different priorities but neighborhoods that are more likely to cause trouble for your housing investment often share certain qualities. What makes or breaks a neighborhood, and what are the signs of decline?

Here are four ways to evaluate an area:
Home Prices
Sale prices in an area offer a good barometer of what’s happening on the ground. A neighborhood where homes linger on the market for years, where owners constantly drop their selling prices or sell for much lower than they initially asked for, might not serve as a great investment for a new home buyer. Most of that information is publicly available. A Realtor can answer questions too. Pay very close attention to small fluctuations in urban areas. In Lagos, for example, by merely crossing to the other side of the street you can pay up to 25% more for a comparable house.
Looks That Aren’t Deceiving
If you see streets dotted with “out of business” signs, or if the schools look in dire need of upgrades, the area may not be for you. Evaluate the quality of transportation—areas with better transit options tend to hold their value more. If you spy dirty streets, poor local services, few recreational facilities, or a shortage of restaurants and other amenities, you may be witnessing signs of a neighborhood in decline. Purchasing property in such an area could put your investment at risk and create havoc in your daily life.
Focus on the Details
If you’re looking at a specific house or apartment, pay close attention to what’s nearby. Some things that might signal a less desirable area:

• Lots of traffic and noise
• Potential hazards such as a power plant
• Built on a landfill or former swampland
• Roads and sidewalks in disrepair
• Shabby, rundown or vacant buildings
• Near railroad tracks, under flight paths
• Near commercial or industrial areas

Careless Neighbors
Driving through a prospective neighborhood and looking at the condition of properties nearby can help you spot other signs of a declining neighborhood. Poor yard maintenance, shoddy landscaping, discarded junk in driveways, gardens growing weeds and broken fences could mean owners lack pride in their homes, and possibly in their community.

What is driving the Real Estate industry in Nigeria?

According to Knight Frank’s recent Africa Report 2015, international investors are increasingly looking for opportunities in Africa’s real estate markets. In the past year alone, we have seen property searches from outside Nigeria increase from under 30 percent to well over 45 percent of all searches on our website. Barely a month goes by without several inquiries from international investment firms that are seeking deeper insight into the Nigerian real estate market.

In my opinion, the primary drivers of increasing investor interest are twofold: positive macroeconomics and stability. The Nigerian economy is continuing to grow at a healthy rate, despite the recent downturns in oil prices. This growth is primarily due to the move away from dependency on the oil and gas industry, with massive growth in sectors such as telecoms, banking and agriculture. This growth has resulted in a healthier spread of wealth and a resurgent middle-class economy.

Nigeria’s growth is no longer seen as a blip, but a sustained transformation of Nigeria’s economic fortune. Excitingly, there is renewed confidence in the system, particularly from local investors, and high demand from a young aspiring population. The behavior of the population is substantially impacting the country’s real estate market. Nigeria is experiencing rapid urbanization, with just under 50 percent of the population living in urban areas — and this number will continue to grow.

This growth is impacting public infrastructure, which struggles to keep up with the demand. So what we see today is property developers taking on the added burden of developing roads, water, power, drainage and commercial retail needs of the communities they are building.

Is this a good thing? Maybe. I believe that it is the future of the Nigerian economy, as the government’s role is overtaken by private developers, just to keep up with demand.

Secondly, Nigeria’s population is young, and getting even younger. I don’t believe we have yet begun to see the full effect of this population trend.

Take Lagos as an example, where over 75 percent of property seekers are looking for rental accommodation. So a city like this needs to adapt to demand by building far more rental properties than are available today (about 35 percent of available properties).

However, at some point, these people will decide to acquire homes of their own. I strongly suspect that at this point, you will see an upsurge in the property markets of Nigeria’s midsized cities such as Enugu, Calabar and Abeokuta.

The property market has always played a role in the overall economic growth, with a contribution of approximately 8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). However, when compared to the 14-17 percent contribution in other emerging markets, I would suggest there is a lot of yet untapped growth potential for real estate in Nigeria.

The proper restructuring of the mortgage market and reformation of outdated land use policies could be the key to unlocking this potential. Financing remains a problem both for property developers and prospective homeowners. Developers might benefit in the medium term from the increasing interest from foreign investors.

But with mortgage rates stuck between 16 and 22 percent, there is strong need for structural reform to assist individual home buyers.

When it comes to selling real estate in Nigeria, the fundamental concern is the nature of the Land Use Act, which restricts land purchase to a long-term lease and requires approval from the state.

This act is seen by most real estate stakeholders as the primary constraint on the growth of the sector, as red tape around acquisition significantly slows down projects and increases costs.

The second major hindrance is speculative pricing. Sale prices in many prime areas are driven more by perception of what might be possible, rather than the reality of the area’s demand characteristics.

I believe the market will benefit from leveraging actual data in driving pricing decisions. We would then expect property developers to factor these prices into their projects before execution — to ensure viability.
The main thing foreign buyers require from local real estate agents is support in researching not only the properties themselves but also the surrounding neighborhoods with respect to the state of local infrastructure, transport connections and so on.

Without being at the location during an average Lagos thunderstorm, for example, a prospective buyer will not be aware of the potential for flooding.

Secondly, real estate agents play a fundamental role in ensuring the authentication of any property in terms of structural integrity and available features. I would, however, always advise any prospective buyer — foreign or local — to engage legal services to carry out due diligence on the buyer’s behalf.

Nigeria possesses all the key factors for real estate investment — a growing middle-class population, growth in consumption, rapid urbanization and a young demographic compared to more mature economies.

I expect each of these factors to contribute to continued demand for both commercial and residential real estate. We are seeing smart investors already bringing more targeted products to market and catering to specific demographics.

Looking forward, in the next 10-15 years, I expect Nigeria will have solved many of its existing structural challenges. This will hopefully lead to a surge in the local economy and free up funds to tackle the infrastructure deficit.

Given the intensity of interest in solving the high rates of mortgages today, I also look forward to more affordable solutions by 2030 that enable the property market to gain traction in transactions and, as a result, smarter pricing.

From inman.com

UNDERSTANDING LAND SIZE/MEASUREMENT

Hello,
Hope your week is moving on a good? There are several terms used in the Real Estate sectors that sounds gibberish and confusing to most would be land owners and owners of landed properties. Most people who purchase lands in Lagos don't really understand the meaning of these important real estate terms. As a potential buyer wishing to buy a land or build a new house you must be conversant with a few of these figures. The first hurdle is to understand the system of land measurements in Nigeria.

In Nigeria today, land is measured in Hectares, Acres, Meters and Feet. These measurements are affected by factors, which includes development patterns, human and environmental factors.

Let’s Start By Asking What Exactly Is The Size Of A Standard Plot Of Land In Nigeria?

According to the dictionary meaning of a plot, “A plot is a marked out piece of land for the purpose of building or farming”. The word "plot" is an arbitrary term used to describe a land division carved out for property development.

The size of a plot of land can vary for different reasons but according to Nigeria's land divisions, the appropriate plot for a house construction is 50 x 100ft which can accommodate a standard house with a small compound. To better understand land divisions used in Nigeria, different units of area are used as follows:

Hectares (ha)

A hectare is one of the least known metric units and one which potential buyers and estate developers seems to struggle with - it is a land measuring 100m x 100m or 328ft x 328ft or 10,000sqm. It is about two and half acres. A Hectare consists of 15 plots.

Acre

An Acre is a standard unit of measurement used by land sellers and it is almost an equivalent to the size of a standard football field. An acre is a product of any rectangular plot of land giving a total of 4,046sqm or 43,560sq ft. An Acre consists of 6 plots each measuring 60 x 120ft.

In Lagos the standard size of a plot is 60 × 120ft (18m × 36m i.e. 648sqm), while in some other cities of the country plots are measured in 50 × 100 ft.

Hope you learnt something?

Look and search no further when it comes to buying lands and houses in Nigeria, simply call +2348188505946 and we would be glad to get you that tailored made property just for you.

10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST IN QUANTUM LIFE ESTATE.

Why is rent and housing very expensive in Lagos metropolis? What is the problem with Lagos? Many have wondered about these questions and I am sure you have too. But the answer to both questions is just one…CONGESTION. As more and more people move to Lagos the rentals and cost of owning a landed property will continue to get out of reach of 95% of the populace.

As this trend continues, tough times get tougher, majority of people are moving to neighbouring towns or the outskirts of Lagos entirely like Mowe, Ibafo and Ofoda etc.

Surprisingly, there is a town in Lagos State that many do not talk about and have provided a safe haven to the very few that knew the secret. And that town is Bagadry! But have you noticed that no one is talking about Bagadry in the real estate sector? But the truth is that many have become millionaires investing in Badagry real estate; many became landlords.

This ancient town, formerly a slave port, is evolving into a vibrant commercial centre. Much more people today now call Badagry home. However, one of the strongest signs of the rapid growth of Badagry is the growing number of small estates, shopping complexes and private residential buildings being developed by companies and individuals in different parts of the town.

Ongoing Road Construction.

Badagry will blow up,” All the tourist attractions in Badagry – the lake, creeks, numerous islands and the slave heritage – are still in seed form. Though the activities of the Lagos state government can be seen in the ongoing reclamation of the Badagry beaches. In 2008, the Lagos state government unveiled a plan to build a $1.8 billion energy city in Badagry to supply 130 MW of electricity to the national grid.

So, the same thing that happened in Lagos metropolis, regarding rental and housing cost, will soon take place in Badagy. Just a matter of time! So, let me ask you, are you going to be among those that will repeat the same question…Why is Badagry so expensive? I am sure you will not, instead you will take advantage of the low prices now and enjoy the happiness that comes from wise investment.



10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD INVEST IN QUANTUM LIFE ESTATE.

1. The estate is located in a Posh and Serene environment (Iworo Badagry), free from the busy and noisy atmosphere associated with the bustling city life.

2. Well structured and planned layout for maximum convenience and comfort.

3. Easy and flexible payment option (550,000 outright promo price, and 850,000 installment plan spread across 24 month at 35,417 monthly).

4. Easy transfer of ownership.

5. The land is free from encumbrance and adverse claimant.

6. Dry and flat land.

7. 30mins ride from Badagry to Lagos Island after the completion of the Blue Light Rail Project.

8. Located in the mist of the numerous govt. projects going on in Badagry.

9. Free from Omo Onile wahala

10. Free water for construction purpose, good road network, maximum security and a partway to be your own Landlord.

Why don't you give us a call on 08188505946 today for inspection, and be part of these great project.