Background of Real Estate Agent

The history of people selling land is reliant upon the nation where they carry out their dealings. In the United States of America, real estate brokers started displaying houses available to be purchased around 1900, and they have proceeded to today.

In nations like Australia, the act of real estate sales has been available, but only recently have real estate brokers come together to form common associations for home sales.

The first records for home deals in the United States starting around 1890 as an attempt to form a real estate association failed, yet it started a procedure so that by 1908, the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges was established to unite real estate agents to facilitate the selling of homes.

Despite the presence of the association, until 1919, anybody could consider themselves a ‘real estate agent’  without any professional certification or licensing. Obviously, the act of selling homes right now in this era is a questionable practice at best as brokers known as curbstones put numerous placards in front of homes attempting to contend leaving homeowners to just pick one from many choices.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Hiring Real Estate Agent

Around 93 percent of home deals include an agent somewhat according to the reports. Much of the time, hiring a real estate agent is obviously to the greatest advantage of the property holders. In others, it is not. It all depends on who you are deciding as your agent. As in all stages of home selling, it is important that you see all of your alternatives, just as the benefits and drawbacks of every, with regards to hiring-or not hiring a real estate agent.

Advantages of Hiring Real Estate Agent 

1. Saves Time

When you hire a real estate agent to carry out the responsibility right, you are free to learn everything about purchasing and selling land properties. You spare heaps of time and effort when you work with an expert who has the correct training and experience to close a deal on a house or any real estate transactions for that matter. Not only is this time-effective, but it is also convenient

2. Negotiation Skills

Not everyone has mastered the art of persuasion, and it is certainly no easy task to do the negotiation in selling home.

Good real estate investors negotiate on your behalf, which makes closing on a deal on a property much easier. The real estate agent is fluent and objective in the way that  they bypass the lowball offer and act straight to a reasonable offer as buyers know they aren’t dealing with an amateur negotiator.

3. Market Knowledge

No one will know your local market better than a certified real estate agent. Real estate agents will know the market trends, how to set suitable price points and the best roads for promoting your home’s availability. Even if they may not have solid information, they know where to find the information they need.

4. Finalizing the Contract and Paperwork

Investors hire a full-time real estate broker to finalize contracts and the required paperwork because they are familiar with the terms and conditions to ensure a legally binding contract. You are far less likely to have to worry about errors and negligence; if they do occur, a licensed real estate professional will have insurance to cover them limiting your risk.

5. Professional Networking

Agents usually have a connection with a lot of different professionals, a large portion of who offer types of assistance, that you would need to sell your home. Sometimes, agents hesitate to suggest a specific company or individual over another. But they have the information about the dealers who have a reputation for competence, mastery and competitive pricing. In this way, agents can give you references from different experts they have worked with to assist you with settling on an informed choice.

6. Multiple Listing Service

A multiple listing service ( Naijahouses ) is a database established by cooperating real estate brokers to provide data about properties for sale. MLS helps real estate agents connect by combining and sharing information with sharing commissions. Using a real estate agent allows you to take advantage of this MLS thereby increasing the exposure of your house.  An example of such MLS  with wide  exposure in Nigeria is Naijahouses.com

Disadvantages of Hiring a Real Estate Agent

1. Divided Attention

If your real estate agents are quite busy with another client, your home may not get sufficient attention it requires. This can lead to a delay in the process or a less profitable deal. You need to be assured of having an agent that will do his or her due persistence at every stage of the selling process. The busier your agent is, the more likely you will experience the frustration of not having your calls returned in a timely manner, deadlines being missed and failed deals.

2. Hiring to Pay the Commission

Hiring an efficient and full-time real estate is expensive because you need to pay him/her a standard amount of commissions which may sometimes bite your pocket a bit. However, you can reduce the commission by hiring a discounted real estate agent, but you will most likely also have to do without some of the benefits described above.

3. Middlemen to Deal With

A real estate agent is simply a middleman between buyer and purchaser. In this way, aside from sitting back and waiting for his/her callbacks or messages, you need to try and trust that your agent shares your interests appropriately with the purchaser. Basically, if you want to work with your purchaser, removing the agent part is very engaging.

4. Mixed Timetables

Hiring a real estate agent means you have to mish-mash another person’s course of events with yours which might not always be adjustable. If your agent doesn’t give the vital time and effort, your home may sit available on the market longer than it needs to. On the other hand, if your agent is eager to unload your home for whatever reason, he may settle on choices that conflict with your objectives so as to sell it quicker.

5. Agents Credibility

Not every agent is a good agent. So it is basic you do your research before you enlist an agent. Look at certifications, experiences, recent deals, and so forth. The key is to enlist somebody who can amplify your investment’s benefit instead of transforming it into another weight on your shoulders.

Conclusion

The decision of hiring or not hiring a real estate agent is up to you. If you think you are experienced enough to do all the procedures by yourself and can devote your time and effort, then go for it.

Keep in mind, agents are commonly superb sales representatives, and they know how to sell themselves. By gathering as much information as you can on an agent, you at least limit the odds that you will be caught by a bad experience. A reliable agency company saves you a lot of hassles. Company like NaijaHouses in Nigeria is one of the recommended agency company with professional service delivery assurance. 

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The scheme will be financed by Family Homes Funds (FHF) Limited, a subsidiary of Federal Ministry of Finance, at the cost of N10.83 billion.

The houses comprise two and three-bedroom apartments. Each three-bedroom unit will occupy 800 square meters of land; while the two-bedroom units could be built on 600 square meters of land.

Facilities expected under the scheme are schools, health facilities, and places of worship, police outposts, fire service stations, mini-markets and children’s playgrounds.

Governor Maimala Buni, who performed a groundbreaking ceremony along Gujba road, said the project is one of the development goals of the state government.

He noted that along with other human needs for clean water and sanitation, healthcare, security; shelter plays an important role in achieving peace and prosperity.

“This is why government; is keen to ensure on a continuous basis, that the people have access to safe and affordable housing,” he said, adding that payment of compensation for land acquired for the project would be settled by FHF.

“While values of acquired land from each beneficiary in each of 17 council headquarters; is currently being assessed for payments. We will work even harder; to ensure that more of our people can have access to houses at affordable rates.

He urged the State’s Housing and Property Development Corporation and Ministry of Land and Housing to effectively supervise contractors handling the housing project.

According to him, contractors and suppliers should ensure modest and competitive pricing so that all building materials are procured locally.

He said the local procurements could boost the economy with increased job creation in the building industry.

FHF’s Managing Director, Mr. Femi Adewole, represented by Said Alkali Kori said the 3,600 houses will be completed in 18 months in line with government’s vision of improving people’s lives, reconstruction and resettlement aftermath of the Boko Haram insurgency.

He said many people in the state, who wished, but could not own houses to now have hopes that they will soon be living under roofs of their own homes.
He said the funds, will also provide training and skills acquisition support to create qualitative and sustainable vocational workers for project.

From: guardian.ng

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FMBN Managing Director, Ahmed Dangiwa who made this known during the presentation of the symbolic cheque for N56.840 to the cooperative, through its Ikeja office in Lagos, said the beneficiaries, numbering 68 are the third batch under the window.

Dangiwa said the bank remained a leading player in the housing and construction finance sector in Nigeria economy and is determined to provide affordable Mortgages to Nigerian workers among its’ many thrives to complement President Muhammadu Buhari’s housing sector reform.

Dangiwa who was represented by the Executive Director, Loans and Mortgage services, Hajiya Rahimatu Aminu-Aliyu, explained that the loan would assist beneficiaries to put their ahouses in a suitable manner.

He said, “The fund is sourced from 2.5 per cent of the basic income of Nigerian workers earning the minimum wage and who are 18 years and above. The overall objective is to provide cheap source of loanable funds to nurture and sustain the mortgage industry and eventually facilitate affordable home-ownership for the low and medium income group in the country.”

Section 14 (2) of the National Housing Fund Act Cap N.45 of 1992 stipulates that a contributor to the Fund can access a loan from the Fund for the purpose of building, purchasing or renovating of existing houses.î

In order to achieve this, he disclosed that the FMBN has developed concessionary loan windows to enable Nigerians access mortgages for home ownership. He however, said that the realisation of the mandate has been hampered by several challenges in Nigeria, which included lack of access to land.

“Inadequate funding for the housing sector, inaccessibility of mortgage loans due to lack of proper title to landed properties. Others are, low income of prospective borrowers which affects affordability, cumbersome procedures for obtaining Governor’s consent to land transactions which is also costly,” he said.

He also applauded the commitment and cooperation of members of Lagos State Public Servants Housing Cooperative.

Earlier, the State coordinator, FMBN, Ikeja office, Mrs. Margaret Sowande said the HRL is granted for the purpose of renovating existing structure at cheap rate of 6 per cent for tenure of five years.

According to her, the housing cooperative is receiving the HRL for the third time and that FMBN is ready to do more. She encouraged all Nigerians above 18 years working in public and private sectors to register with FMBN and subscribe to National Housing Fund (NHF).

The President of the cooperative, Mr. Samuel Okedara commended FMBN for assisting members over the years.

Okedara said: “The sum of N132, 520million has been disbursed to 157 members in the three batches as at May, 2019. In 2017, N28, 500million was disbursed to 37 members of the cooperative, N47,430 million was disbursed to 52 beneficiaries in 2018 and N56,840 million was disbursed to 68 beneficiaries in 2019”.

SOURCE: https://guardian.ng/property/

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The culture of waste that has recently dotted the Nigeria’s landscape, continued to take its toll on properties and infrastructure. The edifice whose value experts say worth about N50 billion has been lying idle over 40 years.
Located on approximately two acres of land, on Essume Street, opposite Ade and Ola Streets, Iyana Era, the over 18-floors controversial building with other adjoining structures has become a safe den for smokers, criminals and abode for miscreants who visit the project, on a daily basis.

The Guardian investigations revealed that the project conceived in 1979, during the regime of a former president Olusegun Obasanjo was to be developed into a befitting headquarters for the NSITF. The project is proximal to National Postgraduate Medical College, Federal Government College Ijanikin, among other institutions.NSITF is one of the foremost social insurance organisations in Africa with a long history of service dating back to 1961. It started in 1961 as the National Provident Fund with the mandate to protect employees in the Nigerian private sector who were mostly in non-pensionable employment.

Specifically, The Guardian gathered over the weekend that the National Assembly has shown interest in the property. The Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Labour are presently examining the state of the building with a view to taking a position on it. The committees have already visited the property on an oversight function and the conclusion was that the committees would get back to all the interested parties in due course”.

The General Manager, (Administration) of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Mr. Segun Basorun confirmed the development.He said that the decision on what to do with the building is entirely in the hands of the National Assembly stressing that NSITF can’t on its own take a decision on it.

“The issue of that building is before the National Assembly because someone raised the issue with both committees. The National Assembly said they were going to get back to us and we are waiting for their directive on the issue.
“NSITF cannot go ahead and do anything with the building now that the National Assembly has shown interest in how the building should be handled. The NSITF cannot pre-empt the National Assembly on the matter”, he said

But the project has not been in use for any good reason regardless that the construction has reached an advanced stage for decades. Young boys in the locality now use the premises as suitable football pitch where they play games on daily basis especially in the evening.The surroundings of the building have also been turned into a dunghill and there hasn’t been any report on whether the structure has been put up for redevelopment.

The Guardian visit to the location last week further showed that many of the occupiers of the edifice are area boys who smoke and drink right in the heart of the building while some young boys were also seen playing with their lovers.
Residents of the area have also turned the premises of building now standing in the middle of a bush into other various uses like selling of motor engine oil, alcoholic drinks, food and auto-mechanic workshops where all kinds of faulty vehicles were repaired.

Despite being situated close to different churches (white garment and Pentecostal) right from the entrance of the street, the structure has become a mecca for nefarious activities as confirmed by a resident of the area, Mr. Jude Alozie. Inside the down floor are old looking arranged white plastic chairs, which he stated are used by some group of people for regular meetings.

Alozie said the police had in the past raided the building to arrest people that come to there to smoke and engage in other anti-social behaviour, but shortly afterward the usual police raids, the perpetrators would return, for their usual dealings.

“We always see young men and girls parading the location for some unknown motives. Some associations have made the building their meeting venues. It is very pathetic that the building has been there for a while and nobody has done anything significant to ensure that it is put to good use.

“How can you imagine this type of huge project been left to waste away. It is the biggest building in this area till date and it is a shame of the nation to have left such a mighty project wasting away,” he said.

Speaking on the development, a property developer in the area, Mr. Joe Emmanuel expressed worries on the culture of abandonment of projects in the country, stating that it is affecting the overall infrastructural development of the nation.

“It is disheartening to see such project that must have cost so much money waste away. The best thing that could happen to the structure going by its age-long neglect is to pull it down for reconstruction because the architectural design is already out of fashion in the building industry,” he stated.

SOURCE: https://guardian.ng/property/

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Technology roles on preconstruction, construction and post construction stages as well as real estate transactions had recently revolutionized the industry, thus, bringing in more efficiency, reduction in costs and time-saving in consummating transactions. Also, there are fears that estate agents, might lose their relevance in the age of technology as statistics show that more millennial globally now prefer to shop for property online to boycott agency charges.

Speaking on the theme, ’’Technology: the key to reshaping estate agency, property development & investment” at the third conference of the Association of Estate Agents in Nigeria, a past president of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Emeka Eleh, posited that with the revelation that 50per cent of ten most profitable businesses in the world are tech-companies and the immense disruptive capacity for better ways of doing things that technology offers, real estate practitioners must adjust to the changes to enhance their identity and brand.

Eleh encouraged them to invest in trainings that boost their online marketing/listing and software driven solutions that would engender extensive world network capacity.

He said technology has made visible inroads in the housing sector through the evolution of 3D designs, material testing, contract management, green building that ensures greater efficiency in energy saving, cost and driving the evolution of better building plan, execution and electronic processing of titles for land/properties and e-signatures for real estate transactions.

He stated that with the potential of the being the largest commodity in the world with an estimated value of $217trillion, a major contributor to gross domestic product and a key component of any economy, technology effects on the sector now make it possible for prospect to view properties in their true life definition from the comfort of offices and homes.

Past president of the International Real Estate Federation, Nigeria chapter, Chief Kola Akomolede while addressing the forum declared that going by Jumia Mobile report which indicates that Nigeria has 84per cent mobile phone penetration, there is a potential market explosion coming through the use of technology in the real estate industry.

On his part, the Group Managing Director of El-Alan construction company Nigeria Limited, Andrea Geday said recent development reveals that the pre-construction and post construction phases of property development has greatly been affected by technology, as the innovation has also helped in carrying out investment analysis and ensuring risk management in the industry.

He stated that the fast evolution of technologies, there are possibilities for 5D technology and invention that would involve tractors working on their own without for construction purpose.

According to him, the basic problem in construction in Nigeria is the lack of technical skills and the high cost of building materials especially cement. Asides cement, he disclosed that everything else needed as building materials are imported.

Earlier, the National Chairman of Association of Estate Agents in Nigeria, Kunle Adedeji and the head of the conference planning committee, Boye Ajayi said the theme of the conference was chosen to take care of the future of members and other stakeholders as technology keeps evolving and making agents to dwell more on it, to better position their business.

SOURCE: https://guardian.ng/property/

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According to experts, green construction offers a chance to secure emission cuts at a low cost and lock in energy and water savings for decades to come. Nigeria currently ranks as the 15th most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change in the world due to heavy dependence on fossil fuels for power generation leading to low life expectancy.

Buildings account for about 40per cent of energy use globally and 19per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, the built environment is expected to double due to high population growth and urbanisation trends while most of the growth will occur in emerging markets, particularly in middle and low income countries in the Sub-Saharan African region like Nigeria, hence, the necessity for stakeholders in housing, to massively invest in green building projects.

Speaking on the benefits of green buildings at a one-day workshop organised by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group in partnership with Green Square Metre Global Investment Limited in Lagos, the founder/ Chief Executive Officer, Green Square Metre, Shaninomi Eribo explained that green construction incorporates design techniques, technologies, and materials that reduce dependence on fossil fuels and negative environmental impact.

He said such structure and application of its processes are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life cycle, from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition.

The workshop themed, “IFC Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) discovery”, explores some of the benefits of the EDGE software which include, its role as most economically viable path to building green, drives results by making the next generation of buildings more profitable while being environmentally friendly. It also empowers decision making by giving instant financial and environmental impacts of systems as well as solutions and also reduces operational costs.

Eribo said the potential for investment in green projects are huge, stressing that out of a total $29.4trillion climate investment potential up to year 2030 in emerging markets, there is a $24.7 trillion investment potential for green buildings alone representing a whopping 84per cent of the total climate investment opportunities.

“IFC Climate Investment Opportunities Report estimates the commercial investment potential in the construction of low-carbon buildings in Sub-Saharan Africa at nearly $153bn, with Nigeria’s climate smart investment potential at over $104bn from 2016–2030 in selected sectors. IFC itself has committed about $300 billion in green building investments over the same period. This includes green bonds and green mortgages and other blended finance instruments.

“Beyond residential developments, green building investment opportunities also extend into retail, hospitality, medical, office and education projects. Just like her counterparts in Columbia, Mexico, Turkey and Vietnam, there is a unique opportunity for Nigerian developers to innovate and demonstrate renewed global leadership in sustainable construction”, he said.

He noted that 70per cent of green buildings in Nigeria and other developing countries hasn’t been built despite its prospects for brand differentiation, lower building operating costs, global branding opportunities as certified projects are celebrated across all official EDGE digital media platforms and opportunity to be profiled for cheaper financing and investment from IFC.

Other opportunities, he said, IFC’s EDGE software and certification standard reduces transaction costs for accessing green finance and is ideally suited for raising finance through green bonds. EDGE already complies with standards such as the Green Bond Principles, recognition by international development partners including the United Nations, World Bank & IFC (and Climate Investors) for measurable reductions in resource use, mitigating the potential effects of climate change in Nigeria, and contributing to the achievement of the SDG’s/Sustainable Development as well as recognition for the active protection of human and environmental.

On his part, Ghana Green Building Programme Lead (IFC), Mr. Dennis Quansah said EDGE is a green building certification system for emerging markets offered by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group that focuses on private sector development. He maintained that green designs in the building sector could save investors serious money through lower energy and water bills adding that investors are fast recognizing that greener buildings can provide multiple benefits such as saving operating costs by boosting efficiency.

The EDGE program, which engages financial institutions, developers, government regulators, and homeowners, is supported by software that can be used by anyone in the world to design a resource-efficient building in more than 130 countries.

“Green building guarantees efficient use of resources in homes and living in resource-efficient units. It significantly reduce energy and water bills among a population that often spends up to 20 percent of their income on utilities.

Fast, easy to use, and affordable, EDGE empowers builders to choose technical solutions that reduce environmental impacts while capturing capital costs and projected savings. It only takes a handful of measures to ensure better building performance, resulting in lower utility costs, extended equipment service life, and less pressure on natural resources”, he stated.

SOURCE: https://guardian.ng/property/

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Speaking in Nairobi at the inauguration of Karibu Homes, a low-cost housing project financed by the organization, Shelter Afrique Chairman Daniel Nghidinua said the situation is compounded by lack of affordable housing finance, high cost of urban land and weak tenure security, rising construction costs, and rapid growth in slums

The company is now calling for a stronger public-private-partnership to address the shortage.

“These high growth rates have given rise to a surge in the demand for urban infrastructure and housing in urban areas. Unfortunately urban planning and investment in housing are often lagging behind resulting in housing deficits. The surge in demand for housing in turn has driven up housing prices and often pushed quality housing out of rich for the majority, especially the poor, low, and middle-income households,” Nghidinua said.

Shelter Afrique Managing Director & CEO Andrew Chimphondah said several countries in the continent are facing huge housing backlog, adding that urgent action was needed to stave-off the crisis.

“It doesn’t matter which country you are referring to any more. Uganda is facing an annual deficit of 1.6 million housing units, Kenya two million housing units, Tanzania three million housing units, South Africa three million housing units, and Nigeria 17 million housing units – wherever you go, it’s a crisis and it is incumbent upon us to heed the call to action,” Mr. Chimphondah said.

Nghidinua noted that even though the housing backlog was a challenge, it wasn’t insurmountable, adding that Shelter Afrique was committed to affordable housing for all in Africa and that the organization was keen on forging smart partnerships aimed at creating growth with scale.

“We believe this challenge represents an opportunity for coordinated actions and investments by various governments, private sector players, and communities across the continent. Through smart partnerships we want to focus on the lower end of the affordable housing market chain to be able to address this housing crisis,” . Nghidinua said.

In a recent report, the UN Habitat blamed the huge housing deficits in Africa to poor response of governments to the issue, ignorance by governments on the housing issue, land delivery systems, urban planning and poor organization of construction sectors in most African countries. The report also stated the continent requires 4 million housing units per year to cover its housing needs.

Shelter Afrique is the only pan-African finance institution that exclusively supports the development of the housing and real estate sector in Africa. By meeting the needs of the continent’s rapidly growing urban population, our work has a direct and positive impact on the lives of many.

A partnership of 44 African Governments, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Africa Reinsurance Company, Shelter Afrique builds strategic partnerships and offers a host of products and related services to support the efficient delivery of affordable housing and commercial real estate.

These include project finance, institutional lending, equity investments & joint ventures, trade finance, and social housing. We also offer practical advice and technical assistance to a wide range of industry stakeholders.

SOURCE: https://guardian.ng/property/

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This was the position of experts who gathered at the Nigerian Property Technology Conference held at the Eko Atlantic City. Specifically, they believed that if the real estate space could have crowd funding regulations, prompt accessibility to the data base of states and federal government in terms of housing data, mortgage volume and number, among others, the industry will witness tremendous growth.

Proptech is technology enabled in the real estate industry; it touches areas like planning of buildings and property management for efficiency and smartness in a shared economy. It involves the block chain technology, artificial intelligence, crowd funding, and Internet of Thing (IOT), which are basically the future of the industry.

PropTech also describes the wave of tech innovations set to disrupt real estate markets and which have already started to make its presence felt in both the residential and commercial property segments.

The conference was attended by experts in the proptech community which include, CEO of Cobuilt, Olayide Opaola, founder of Zama, Abdulhakeem Sadiq, Founder of Estate Intel, Dolapo Omidire, Teal lead, operations, Mixta Nigeria, Ola Awodipe and head of ICT& business process operation for Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company, Taofeeq Olatinwo and others.

Leading the call at the two-day summit organised by PISON Housing Company, the founder, Roland Igbinoba expressed dismays that the Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission don’t have a crowd funding regulation that could help pull together funds for real estate financing in the country stressing that it remained a major challenge in the 21st technology world.

He said the benefit of established regulation is that foreign investors will be able to look into the market and have clear information on how to play in the market.

“People from New York, the United Kingdom and others who wants to invest in Nigeria will know that there is a regulation and procedure that needs to be followed. The industry needs to work more with government to try and take the market to the next level. The major goal we are trying to achieve is to work with Security and Exchange Commission to have a regulation for the industry so that a lot of investors who want to come into the country will not be deterred. Today if you go and sell the idea to them on crowd funding for real estate, they will tell you that they don’t understand and they we ask for how would it work in absence of regulation”.

SOURCE: https://guardian.ng/property/

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They canvassed for houses that meet people’s standards and delivered in record time, without the usual bottlenecks associated with acquiring properties in the country.The experts spoke at the 7th edition of the Africa CEO’s forum held in Kigali, Rwanda.

The forum, which is the continent’s largest international meeting of Africa’s private sector captains, international investors and high-level policymakers deliberated on the possibility of a fully developed African continent and the Nigerian nation without housing deficits.

Entitled, ‘Shaping the Future of Africa’, over 1,800 participants recommended more reforms to accelerate Africa’s economic integration.

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Palton Morgan Holdings, Adeyinka Adesope, said meeting the housing needs of the citizens should be a major concern of government.

He stated that while the economy of the nation has been tough on most sectors in the last three years, it has been tougher on the real estate sector. “Hence, the federal government should wake up to the reality of the diagonal impact the housing sector has on the economy while major players of the sector must eschew ‘siloed model of operation,” he said.

Adesope wants government to reconsider the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), saying the integration of Africa is one of the ways the continent’s developments can be galvanized.

He declared that collaboration among African nations was key to developing the continent, which must also be embraced by major players in the real estate sector of Nigeria, to advance the sector.

“The company is delivering on various housing initiatives across the country to battle the housing deficit with offerings like PropertyMart Fairmont, fairest deal on the Lekki corridor, Grenadines Homes ‘Oceanna’, the icon of the nation, among others.

Through its member companies, the group’s strategic focus and policies rest on the development and completion of major projects in Nigeria and across the globe and the synergy of management and staff has grown the group to be one of the largest real estate investment firm in the country”.

Other participants at the forum urged African governments to take advantage of pension funds to bridge their infrastructure-funding shortfall and de-risk pension systems.

“Africa requires $95 billion every year to cater for its funding needs in energy, roads, ports, railway, and other infrastructure projects. However, they can only raise half of the required amount, which calls to look for more funding alternatives”.

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Africa RE, Corneille Karekezi, said since investing in infrastructure requires a lot of liquidity, countries must create vehicles that would help accumulate the resources.

SOUCRE: https://guardian.ng/property/

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After five days of talks at the Fourth UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, ministers from more than 170 United Nations Member States delivered a bold blueprint for change, saying the world needed to speed up moves towards a new model of development in order to respect the vision laid out in the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

Noting that they were deeply concerned by mounting evidence that the planet is increasingly polluted, rapidly warming and dangerously depleted, the ministers pledged to address environmental challenges through advancing innovative solutions and adopting sustainable consumption and production patterns.

“We reaffirm that poverty eradication, changing unsustainable and promoting sustainable patterns of consumption and production and protecting and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development are the overarching objectives of, and essential requirements for, sustainable development,” the ministers said in a final declaration.

“We will improve national resource management strategies with integrated full lifecycle approaches and analysis to achieve resource-efficient and low-carbon economies,” they said.

More than 4,700 delegates, including environment ministers, scientists, academics, business leaders and civil society representatives, met in Nairobi for the Assembly, the world’s top environmental body whose decisions will set the global agenda, notably ahead of the UN Climate Action Summit in September.

As well as pledging to promote sustainable food systems by encouraging resilient agricultural practices, tackle poverty through sustainable management of natural resources, and promote the use and sharing of environmental data, ministers said they would significantly reduce single-use plastic products.

“We will address the damage to our ecosystems caused by the unsustainable use and disposal of plastic products, including by significantly reducing single-use plastic products by 2030, and we will work with the private sector to find affordable and environmentally friendly products,” they said.

To address critical knowledge gaps, ministers promised to work towards producing comparable international environmental data while improving national monitoring systems and technologies. They also expressed support for UN Environment’s efforts to develop a global environmental data strategy by 2025.

“The world is at a crossroads but today we have chosen the way forward,” said Siim Kiisler, President of the Fourth UN Environment Assembly and Estonia’s environment minister. “We have decided to do things differently.”

At the close of the Assembly, delegates adopted a series of non-binding resolutions, covering the logistics of shifting to a business-unusual model of development.

These included a recognition that a more circular global economy, in which goods can be reused or re-purposed and kept in circulation for as long as possible, can significantly contribute to sustainable consumption and production.

Other resolutions said Member States could transform their economies through sustainable public procurement and urged countries to support measures to address food waste and develop and share best practices on energy-efficient and safe cold chain solutions.

Resolutions also addressed using incentives, including financial measures, to promote sustainable consumption while encouraging Member States to end incentives for unsustainable consumption and production where appropriate.

A key focus of the meeting was the need to protect oceans and fragile ecosystems. Ministers adopted a number of resolutions on marine plastic litter and micro-plastics, including a commitment to establish a multi-stakeholder platform within UN Environment to take immediate action towards the long-term elimination of litter and micro-plastics.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who attended the summit, said action on unsustainable resource use was no longer a choice, but a necessity.

“As Member States have stated during vibrant debates, alongside civil society, businesses, the science community and other stakeholders here in Nairobi, it is yet possible to increase our well-being, and at the same time maintain economic growth through a clever mix of climate mitigation, resource efficiency and biodiversity protection policies,” she said.

As evidence mounts of the devastating effects of human activity on the health of the planet, a global clamour for swift action is rising. As delegates prepared to leave Nairobi on Friday, hundreds of thousands of students in around 100 countries took to the streets as part of a global protest movement inspired by Swedish student Greta Thunberg.

Speaking during the Environment Assembly on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said young people were right to protest and that the world needed their anger to drive faster, more forceful action.

“We believe that what we need, given the situation we live in, are real laws, rules that are binding and adopted internationally. Our biosphere faces total devastation. Humanity itself is threatened. We cannot simply respond with some nice-sounding principles without any real impact,” President Macron said.

President Kenyatta also said that the world needed to act now to address record levels of environmental degradation, food insecurity, poverty and unemployment.

“Current global statistics are indeed quite sobering and projections for the future generations are dire and demand urgent action from governments, communities, businesses and individuals,” he said.

SOURCE: https://guardian.ng/property/

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