Christiana Kanu, Managing Director of Property Crew believes that majority of the houses in Nigeria are quite overpriced. She tells Bennett Oghifo that houses in major urban cities of Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt are put up at outrageous prices and thereby making it almost impossible for even the middle-income earners to access
Tell us about yourself
My name is Christiana Kanu, I am 37 years old, I was born in Ilesa Osun State and I am the 7th Child of a family of 8. I am from Ndiowu in Anambra State, Orumba North Local Government and raised in Lagos State. I did my Primary and Secondary education in Lagos State. After I graduated from high school at the age of 15, I worked with my mother Mrs. Virginia Kanu who was a renowned business woman at the time, at that early age, I successfully managed one of her businesses for over three years. During the period I worked for my mother, she taught me the value of commitment, hard work, consistency, collaboration and entrepreneurial spirit. Afterwards, I proceeded to the University of Benin to Study Accounting. I graduated in 2009 and obtained my MBA from National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). I started my career in a real estate firm and worked as an Accountant and then Marketing Manager within 2 years and it was during this time that my passion for Real Estate blossomed. I love everything about real estate, from Lettings to sales, to development/construction and the whole real estate process. In 2012, I founded Relocation Managers Limited which now metamorphosed to Property Crew Limited in 2017. In 2018 out of my love for shelter and hospitality, I founded Shortlet Nigeria Limited- to help both individuals and companies get short-term rental accommodation in Nigeria and due to our large clientele base and the high demand for short term rentals, in 2019 I founded Flex Lagos Limited and our vision is to build several luxurious and affordable short-term rental properties and properties across Nigeria to meet the demands of client base. We currently have over 1,000 short term rental properties in our Shortlet Nigeria Portfolio and we intend to get more listings while for Flex Lagos Nigeria, we have three properties currently running and we intend to spread more across the nation. Over the years, I have managed to build and maintained a reputation for outstanding service delivery helping investors, developers, buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals. I am currently the President of PCL HOLDINGS. I love family, reading, acquiring new skills and traveling.
Why are you passionate about housing and the real estate sector in Nigeria?
Ever since I was a young adult in high school, I have always had this knack for buildings, structure and architecture. After I graduated from the university, I worked in a real estate company which reignited my passion for real estate. I am passionate about housing because housing is a basic human need and it has been rated worldwide as the second most essential need of man after food. In Nigeria, shelter is one of the major problems we have given that our population is quite enormous and there is housing shortage and yet a tight supply of “reasonably priced” housing options. My primary passion is to seek ways to proffer solutions to the problems of housing shortage and increasingly out-of-reach housing for millions of Nigerians. I am passionate about providing affordable and quality housing and making sure it is accessible to all. Housing is one of the most important and basic need of humans all over the world and I want to change the narrative and change how people live in Nigeria.
Nigeria has huge housing problem. What do you think can be done to resolve it?
Although housing in Nigeria is a gold mine that plays an integral role in the Nigerian economy and also an investment that provides the greatest source of wealth and savings for many Nigerian families and businesses, it has its challenges and issues that are hindering its growth. Below is a list of what I believe are the critical housing problems in Nigeria: Overpriced Houses: Majority of the houses in Nigeria are quite overpriced. Houses in major urban cities of Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt are put up at outrageous prices and thereby making it almost impossible for even the middle-income earners to access. One of the reasons for the high cost of housing is majorly the continuous price increase in building materials. I think basically to solve this problem, the government make some sort of reforms in the real estate sector whereby materials should be sourced and produced (internally) locally thereby reducing the cost of construction. Inaccessibility to Project Funding and Mortgage Loans: It is no news that it has become increasingly difficult to access funds for projects in Nigeria especially for real estate development. This has made it difficult for private developers to fund their projects as the government alone cannot handle the housing deficits prevalent in Nigeria and to bridge this gap, there should be easy access for real estate development project fund. Also, there should be easy access to mortgage to enable more Nigerians access funds to buy the house of their dreams. Devaluation of the Naira: The continuous fall in naira is also a major challenge in housing. This is because the Nigerian construction industry depends mostly on the importation of raw materials and equipment used for construction. With unstable naira, the cost of purchasing these raw materials increases and so the market bears the brunt. We need to produce materials locally so that properties would be more affordable and also the economy would be boosted. Land Registration/ Building Approval Processes and Cost: The structural process of registering properties in Nigeria is one of the main challenges of housing in Nigeria. Real estate agents, developers, and lawyers can relate to this challenge. The Land registration process in Nigeria is frustrating. It can last as long as 6 months to 2 years with elongated procedures costing up to about 20.8% of the value of the property same applies to the building approval processes. More often than not, you may have to spend more than the cash budgeted for your application to move from one office to the next. This automatically disrupts business plans, and highly discourage investors. It also affects development and construction thereby resulting in overpriced houses that the average Nigerian citizen can’t afford, making this yet another major challenge in housing and the real estate sector. Omo – onile: Even though the Lagos state government has tried to clamp down the activities of the omo-onile also known as land grabbers, through the properties protection law and by issuing a 21- year jail term to any one of them caught, they are still a major challenge to housing in Nigeria as they still cause havoc because their operations and fraudulent activity has not been fully curbed. These people have driven away landowners and overtaken lands that do not belong to them, they specialize in selling lands to more than one person especially yet to be developed lands increasing land controversies and conflicts in Nigeria. All of these scares potential investors away and slows the progress of society. To solve this problem, the government should put their feet down and set uniform laws in place, in every part of Nigeria to totally eradicate the terrible activities of omo-onile in Nigeria. Lack of Competent Builders/ Contractors: Many builders and contractors used are inexperienced, they mostly use bad materials to make extra money for themselves. The cases of collapsed buildings in Nigeria in recent times is often as a result of developers that failed to adhere to building construction standards. Adequate supervision of workmen can reduce these cases. Other problems include and are not limited to crumbling infrastructure, high taxation, lack of management, weather related risks e.t.c. Finally, all of these issues listed are major hindrances to the most transformative sector of the economy-Housing, if these issues above are not addressed, it would be difficult for investors both foreign or indigenous to invest.
Talk us through the projects of Property Crew
Over the years, Property Crew Limited has been involved in various outstanding projects starting from helping both private individual and companies connect to their ideal property to estate development to change the way Nigerians live and also proving affordable houses and short-term rental properties to both Nigerian and Foreign investors. We intend to continue making living affordable and accessible in Nigeria.
Since inception, what are the giant strides recorded by Property Crew and what are your projections for the nearest future?
The giant strides recorded by Property Crew Limited in line with its objective is making housing affordable and accessible to Nigerians by founding SHORTLET NIGERIA LIMITED and FLEX LAGOS LIMITED to make it easier for Nigerians to live by paying rentals daily, weekly or monthly as opposed to the annual upfront rental payment system we have in Nigeria. We also just recently launched PEDC (Paradise Estate Development Company) with aim to develop quality and very affordable estates within Nigeria to be accessible to all Nigerians. PEDC would change the narrative on how Nigerians Live. We are about to Launch two (2) of our estates in August and September respectively and we would be creating up to 1,000 affordable housing units for Nigerians.
Property Crew is about to launch a mega waterfront housing project in Lagos. Outline the details and what home buyers will benefit from the project
Yes, Property Crew Limited is set to launch a mega water front estate through its development company (Paradise Estate Development Company PEDC) and the estate is Called PARADISE FORESHORE ESTATE. The Project in Lekki Everyone Is Obsessed About! Paradise Foreshore Estate is located in Addo Road, VGC lagoon front Lekki one of the choicest areas to live in Lagos. Lekki is the fastest developing residential and commercial district in Lagos, Lekki is constantly met with the demand for affordable, yet luxurious estates with good amenities. The region, which is constantly attracting major investors and developers is poised for greater returns on investment and capital appreciation. In line with our vision to meet the rising demand for premium standard estates alongside our high-quality standards, we hereby bring to you PARADISE FORESHORE ESTATE -Highlighting the importance of quality and natural living within a well-defined perimeter. Paradise Foreshore Estate (PFE) is the definition of luxury and sophisticated living, this magnificent estate would span over 900 residential plots and 100 commercial/mixed used plots of reclaimed land on the Lagos lagoon, the newly built Paradise Foreshore will become a world class compilation of luxury homes and a spectacular lifestyle. Precisely borne out of the need to provide the best in infrastructure and luxury amenities. When it comes to urban living, PFE will set the pace for others to follow with regards to its contemporary designs, quality construction, eminent structures and lavish facilities. PFE will be the definition of luxury living for both individuals, corporations and families. Paradise Foreshore Estate is set to launch a new dawn and redefine the meaning of urban and luxurious living while providing maximum satisfaction in estates and investments. A celebration of supremely confident estate design coupled with cutting-edge construction techniques, PFE represents an exciting collaboration between excellent architecture and environment, an iconic focal point on the Lekki skyline whose residents will enjoy a standard of contemporary living. The vision is to position PFE as a trailblazer when it comes to providing exclusive world class living. Paradise foreshore Estate presents an estate that will check all the boxes you want in luxury lifestyle; Good and transferrable title (Certificate of Occupancy), Expect impeccable architectural designs, best in class construction technology, opulence, great amenities, smart estate systems. It is no wonder the whole of Lagos is obsessed about this project that is set to redefine luxury living in Lekki.
Any plans of Property Crew business diversification in the face of the current economic challenges in the country?
Definitely, we are already diversifying into Agriculture as we are set to launch Novagro Farms Limited in the last quarter of 2021. Novagro farms Limited is located in Okitipupa Ondo state and is set to be one of the largest palm-oil producing companies in Nigeria. We are also looking at diversifying into Technology, Tourism and Entertainment in the nearest future.
What are the challenges encountered in your real estate business over the years and how have you been engaging various stakeholders (government, community, professional associations e.t.c) in solving the problems?
We have encountered various challenges ranging from inaccessibility of funds to estate developers and builders, continuous increase in price of building materials, inaccessibility to mortgage funds, high loan interest rate, high cost of building approval documentation, long duration and high cost of land registration processes, high tax rates, high cost of building approval to mention few. In solving the problems, we have reached out to the government to make reforms in the real estate sector to curb all this challenges and make it easy for both Nigerians and foreign investors invest in the Nigerian real estate sector as there are huge investment opportunities in the sector with great returns. Internally, we have resorted to finding ways to reduce the cost of building by sourcing for materials directly and also producing others.
The ongoing global pandemic has dealt negatively with several sectors. How has this impacted the real estate sector in Nigeria?
In retrospect, I think this covid-19 global pandemic has positively changed the way people think and their perspective about shelter, housing and real estate in its entirety. People, both individual and companies are now taking real estate seriously because at the end of the day, shelter is one of the most important basic necessities of humans after food and it has been long overlooked. Post pandemic has made people realize the importance of owning your own home and there has been considerable increase in the demand for housing as opposed to Pre-covid.
As a professional, what are your candid advice to government in making land acquisition much easier for both housing and business purposes?
The answer is Reforms, the government should continuously improve the land acquisition process in Nigeria to make the land acquisition process easier, faster, transparent and cost effective as this would attract both foreign and indigenous investors. Also, the government should bring policies to curb incompetent and inexperienced builders. What I would say in general is, Nigeria is a blessed nation and our land very fertile, we should all work together to build a Nigerian the next generation would be proud of.
