Economy

Real Estate Fund Will Solve Nigeria’s Housing Deficit—FSDH

Published

7 years ago

26/02/2019

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A Lagos-based investment firm, FSDH Research, has identified Real Estate Fund (REF) has the solution to the shortage of housing in Nigeria.

In its weekly report, FSDH Research said government can use REF as an investment vehicle to address the housing deficit and encourage economic activity in the real estate sector.

Housing is a basic need of all human beings. Other basic human needs include food and clothing. Irrespective of their social or financial status, everyone deserves and needs access to quality and affordable housing.

Sadly, in Nigeria, there is a significant shortage of affordable housing. The housing gap is estimated to stand between 17 and 20 million units.

This means that Nigeria needs to build between 17 and 20 million housing units to ensure that Nigerians have this basic human need.

In monetary terms, Nigeria may require between N170 trillon to N200 trillion to bridge the housing gap if each unit costs N10 million.

Given the rising population in the country, the housing shortage keeps increasing.

Meanwhile, developments in the real estate sector of the Nigerian economy, which is where activities that will close the housing shortage will take place, have not been impressive.

Economic activity in the real estate sector has been consistently contracting since the first quarter of 2016.

FSDH Research is of the opinion that with the REF, investors (both retail and high net worth) can create wealth in real estate through regular investment in the fund without investing directly in the brick and mortar.

It said REF is an investment vehicle that pools resource together to invest in real estate, therefore allowing individual investors to partake in the benefits of the underlying properties.

In Nigeria, REFs are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), just like stocks/shares. They can therefore be purchased through stockbrokers, just like other stocks/shares. Every REF must have a fund manager that manages the fund to ensure the best return to shareholders.

REFs are real estate working for the investors. The holder of a REF will earn a share of the income from the real estate investment through dividends without actually having to buy, manage or finance any housing projects.

REFs are required to distribute at least 90 percent of their taxable income as dividend. As a result, it provides constant income for shareholders. There is no minimum amount to invest in a REF so it is suitable for all investors.

FSDH Research noted that REFs have not gained much popularity in Nigeria in terms of the numbers available and their size relative to the size of the Nigerian economy.

There are currently only three REFs listed on the NSE; Skye Shelter Fund, Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the total value of the assets of all three funds stood at N43.74 billion as at January 18, 2019, representing about 0.03 percent of Nigeria’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

FSDH Research notes that these assets have recorded weak growth over the last five years, perhaps due to the slow activity in the real estate sector in general. The inadequate information on how REFs work and how investors can take advantage of the investment opportunities in them may also explain why REFs are not growing as they should.

FSDH Research believes REFs can be used as one of the measures to boost activity in the Real Estate sector. As patronage for REFs in Nigeria increases, more funds would be available to buy and develop more real estate properties.

Consequently, the real estate sector would begin to experience increased activity. The REFs can also concentrate on affordable housing units which will help to bridge the housing deficits in the country. Therefore, it is a win-win situation for all the stakeholders. FSDH Research notes that the real estate sector can also stimulate economic activity in other sectors of the economy such as cement manufacturing, plastic and iron fabrication. This would help to create job opportunities for skilled and unskilled labour, within and outside the sector.

FSDH Research also notes that the real estate sector is labour-intensive, therefore with adequate investment and incentives in the sector, the high unemployment narratives in Nigeria can change.

Economy

MRS Oil, FrieslandCampina Wamco Shrink NASD Index by 0.68%

Published

1 day ago

06/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of MRS Oil and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Friday, June 5.

MRS Plc lost N19.00 during the session to sell at N171.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N190.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N8.70 to finish at N181.68 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N190.38 per unit.

As a result, the market capitalisation further lost N22.59 billion to close at N2.607 trillion versus the N2.630 trillion it ended a day earlier, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropped 37.76 points to settle at 4,358.32 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 4,396.08 points.

The alternative stock market closed the last trading day of this week with a price gainer, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gained 6 Kobo to quote at N78.40 per share compared with the preceding session’s N78.34 per share. However, it could not prevent the market from going down at the close of business.

Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors went down by 50.0 per cent to 140,345 units from the preceding day’s 280,714 units, the value of stocks decreased by 16.5 per cent to N17.9 million from the previous session’s N21.5 million, and the number of deals carried out by market participants fell by 35.7 per cent to 27 deals from the 42 deals recorded on Thursday.

When trading activities closed for the day, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.

GNI Plc also ended the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.

Economy

NGX Index Rebounds 0.15% on Renewed Interest in Financial Stocks

Published

1 day ago

06/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Renewed interest in financial stocks and others lifted the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.15 per cent on Friday.

Customs Street closed higher yesterday despite the 1.37 per cent loss recorded by the consumer goods sector as a result of profit-taking.

This was offset by gains in the other key sectors of the local bourse, as the insurance counter chalked up 1,14 per cent. The banking space appreciated by 0.90 per cent, the industrial goods segment grew by 0.46 per cent, and the energy sector expanded by 0.01 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 366.00 points to 242,593.31 points from 242,227.31 points, and the market capitalisation gained N235 billion to close at N155.594 trillion compared with the previous day’s N155.359 trillion.

The trio of International Energy Insurance, Abbey Mortgage Bank, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent each yesterday to N7.26, N9.35, and N1.98, respectively, while Zichis advanced by 9.39 per cent to N32.38, with Sovereign Trust Insurance up by 8.70 per cent to N2.50.

On the flip side, Academy Press lost 9.84 per cent to quote at N8.25, University Press depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Africa Prudential dipped by 2.63 per cent to N12.95, Chams crumbled by 2.44 per cent to N4.00, and International Breweries slipped by 1.59 per cent to N12.35.

Business Post reports that the market breadth index was positive during the session after recording 37 appreciating equities and 14 depreciating equities, implying strong investor sentiment.

Abbey Mortgage Bank led the activity chart with a turnover of 164.1 million units worth N1.5 billion, Ellah Lakes sold 76.7 million units for N767.2 million, Access Holdings transacted 44.8 million units valued at N1.1 billion, Linkage Assurance exchanged 23.0 million units worth N41.2 million, and The Initiates traded 20.2 million units for N562.1 million.

At the close of trades, market participants transacted 608.5 million units worth N32.0 billion in 53,826 deals versus the 588.5 million units valued at N27.9 billion executed in 57,352 deals in the previous session. This showed that the number of deals eased by 6.15 per cent, the volume of transactions rose by 3.40 per cent, and the value of transactions soared by 14.70 per cent.

Economy

Naira Depreciates to N1,362/$1 at Official Market

Published

1 day ago

06/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira further depreciated against the United States Dollar by N3.46 or 0.25 per cent to N1,362.21/$1 from N1,358.75/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 5.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window during the session by N4.47 to trade at N1,823.59/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,828.06/£1, and gained N7.00 against the Euro to sell at N1,574.58/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,581.58/€1.

For another trading session, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the parallel market and the GTBank forex counter on Friday at N1,375/$1 and N1,372/$1, respectively.

The Naira is expected to remain strong in the near term, backed by a rise in external reserves, which are nearing $50 billion, enhancing analysts’ confidence about its outlook in the second half of 2026.

Heightened global uncertainty has reduced the incentive for importers and corporates to demand FX, as cautious trade weighs on import needs. Analysts estimate a $40 billion net FX position for the year, a projection anchored in oil windfall gains.

As for the cryptocurrency market, prices remained depressed following a strong US jobs report that spurred markets to price in higher-for-longer interest rates, sending Treasury yields and the dollar up while hammering stocks, especially AI-related names. Crypto markets saw heavy leverage washouts with about $1.6 billion in positions liquidated over 24 hours.

Ethereum (ETH) gave up 4.9 per cent to trade at $1,584.68, Solana (SOL) fell by 3.3 per cent to $63.22, Bitcoin (BTC) crashed by 1.9 per cent to $61,333.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 1.8 per cent to $0.0821, and Ripple (XRP) moderated by 1.8 per cent to $1.09.

Further, TRON (TRX) dropped 1.6 per cent to sell at $0.3197, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 1.0 per cent to $581.18, and Cardano (ADA) declined by 0.4 per cent to $0.1589, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) gained 0.07 to sell at $0.9997, and US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $0.9998.