FMBN targets 20,000 housing units in 3 years –MD
NAN-H-106
Housing
Uche Bibilari/Emmanuella Anokam
Abuja, March 16, 2017 (NAN) The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) says it is targeting 20,000 housing units within the next two and three years.
The Acting Managing Director, FMBN, Mr Richard Esin, made this known on Thursday at the ongoing Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (REDAN) building expo and intensive workshop in Abuja.
Esin noted that the housing units would complement the effort of the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing which has embarked on massive construction of 5,000 housing units nationwide.
Delivering a paper entitled: “Options for Expanding Access to Mortgages for Residential, Commercial and Industrial Properties’’, he explained that increased home ownership opportunities among citizens could address social, health and security challenges of uncontrolled urbanisation.
According to him, property rights remain a challenge in Nigeria due to powers vested in government to acquire or revoke land without any form of recourse to previous holders of title.
He further noted that the 30 to 40 year tenure required for mortgage transactions did not match the short-term deposit portfolio of Nigerian financial institutions.
This, he noted, could grant home loans for 10 years and at high interest rate of 22 per cent.
He advised that government should be committed to mass housing delivery based on national housing model aiming at affordability and quality.
The expert called for the review of the Land Use Act to ease enforcement liens and access to land.
“This will remove provisions that hinder smooth property transactions, especially the requirement for governor’s consent to property transactions,’’ he said.
In his remarks, Mr Anthony Okwa, Managing Director, Construction Skills, Training and Empowerment Programme (C-STEmp) said the effectiveness of the housing sector could directly contribute to the creation of economic opportunities for Nigeria.
“Such benefits are in terms of employment opportunities, ease of market access, increased opportunities to compete and investment. (NAN)
UU/ELLA/OSA/AFA
Edited by Shittu Obassa/Felix Ajide