…Seek govt’s intervention in cost of building materials

Estate agents in Benue State, on Tuesday, lamented what they called the continued astronomical rent increase in the state, describing it as worrisome.

Chairman of the Nigeria Estate Surveyors, Benue State chapter, ESV. Opita Agaba disclosed this to New Telegraph in Makurdi, the state capital.

ESV Agaba stated that he has followed the rampant rent increments in the country and Benue in particular in recent times and has attributed the ugly scenario to the activities of some estate agents.

“Since May 2023, when the subsidy on fuel was removed, the cost of producing various commodities has increased astronomically and caused the price rise. The situation is similar to the other types of commodities, like accommodation.

“Prior to the removal of the subsidy, it was said that Nigeria faced a shortage of housing stock by about 18 million houses.

“To produce a single accommodation takes an average period of about three to four years. The population growth is at a faster rate than the provision of accommodation, and this has led to the demand for accommodation outgrowing supply.

“The property development sector, like every other market, operates on the rules governed by the variables that control other sectors of the economy, anchored on the principles of demand and supply”.

ESV Agada regretted that while the situation persists, the stakeholders who are landlords and agents generally key in to make good returns.

He, however, stressed that as the development makes sense in a normal business setup, the only way out of the situation is to reduce the high cost of rent.

Agaba admonished the government to swiftly intervene to subsidise the cost of building materials, provision of land at affordable rates to the citizens, embark on construction of a mass housing scheme and rent or sell out to citizens at subsidised rates, as well as encourage banks to grant housing loans at single-digit interest rates to the people for value addition.

He noted that the idea of reintroducing rent control in the industry, as has been contemplated by some state governments, cannot be fashionable, as it might worsen the situation.

Agada recalled that the rent control measure experimented in the 1970s with the Residential Premises Edit of 1976 precisely targeted the rent control and recovery processes, emphasising that the policy led to the growth of the black market with its attendant consequences on the citizens, as the shortage of residential properties caused the backlash in the property market.