PROPTECH AS THE KEY TO UNLOCKING NIGERIA’S REAL ESTATE MARKET.
As confidence is being restored to the real estate sector in Nigeria through intervention policies administered by the government and the aftermath of the COVID 19 pandemic, the changes to the economy would be seen to have favored the real estate industry which is likely to experience fundamental shifts that will transform the landscape of transactions in the near and long term.
Data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed that the Nigerian Economy -Africa’s largest economy finally exited recession. For the Real Estate Sector, real GDP growth recorded for Q4 2020 stood at 2.81% while the real annual growth for the year 2020 stood at –9.22% This recovery is attributed to the resumption of residential and commercial projects abandoned during the COVID 19 lockdown, and the full reopening of the economy.
Across the real estate industry, the impact has resulted in the increased employment of digital features across all frontiers of sectors ranging from property listing, virtual tours, co-living, property management, and data analytics. Increased traffic resulting from e-commerce and the
adoption of work-from-home (WFH) has triggered the lesser need for physical interaction as companies’ edge towards virtualization of work.
Property Technology or PropTech involves the application of technology to create and deliver innovative real estate products and services to a wide range of users. PROPTECH has the same transformative potential as both Telecoms and FINTECH revolutionized the banking and digital services in Nigeria.
The deployment of technology would make the Nigerian real estate sector more transparent and enable increased liquidity to drive greater homeownership. The world is a global village and Proptech is re-imagining real estate. The evolvement of data analytics companies such as Estate Intel and North court has encouraged digitization and thus made reliable data available for investors and home buyers alike.
With population exceeding 200 Million People and adult population estimated at 100Million, Nigeria remains a huge and unrealized market with 70% of GDP generated in the informal sector and urbanization rate standing at 50%.
Key elements to unlocking the market are data aggregation; transparent processes; increased efficiency; quality standards and simplified credit system. The fastest way to do this is the deployment of technology which would make Nigerian real estate more investable, thus increasing liquidity and greater home ownership.
With the advent of Octo5’s STOW APP, we aim to provide a transparent and secure market place for real estate investment opportunity and encourage a property investment culture in Nigeria. The shift to e-commerce is irreversible as consumer behaviors, demographics and expectations are rapidly changing.