FMF, others list strategies to curb impact of coronavirus in real estate

Following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the real estate sector, stakeholders including five chief executives in the mortgage finance industry have move to cushion the effect on the average Nigerians seeking decent and affordable housing in the country.

They were drawn from Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN); Family Home Funds (FHF); Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC); Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria (MBAN) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The industry key players who met at a one-day at a CEOs webinar recently hosted by the Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN), with theme “COVID-19 Pandemic and Housing Finance Leadership, agreed to collaborate on provisions of affordable housing and mortgage finance for low-income Nigerians to enhance easy access to their homes.

Setting the tone of the discussion, CBN’s Deputy Director, who also doubles as Director of FMBN, Mr. Ade Adesemoye, said that CBN was working on mortgage interest drawback programme to reduce interest rate to single digit for mortgages not exceeding N5million apart from other interventions.

According to him, CBN is committed to creating an intervention fund for three critical areas of the housing sector such as provision of construction finance for developers that can provide evidence of profiled off- takers with ability to repay; provision of mortgage finance to avail funding for mortgage originator; and working with state land administration agencies to process and issue titles promptly.

Speaking on the strategies mapped out in actualizing affordable housing for low income earners in the country, FMF Managing Director, Mr. Femi Adewole, said the challenges confronting the housing sector are not insurmountable. 

According to him, a vast majority of Nigerian families have their household income below N100, 000 monthly and as such would only be able to afford houses built specifically to address their needs and range of income, adding that it is this category of the country’s population that the Fund is most interested in housing. 

“FHF is specifically targeted at housing solutions for Nigerians who are earning less than 100,000 naira per month as household income,” Adewole added.
NMRC’s Managing Director, Mr. Kehinde Ogundimu, said the next mandate of the company was to develop the primary and secondary mortgage market in Nigeria.

MBAN President, Mr. Adeniyi Akinlusi, disclosed that the association had been working with the FMBN on rent-to-own, the FHF on rent-to-buy, and also with other stakeholders in order to take care of people that are vulnerable or homeless.

“If housing access is there, and access to affordable mortgages, it will stimulate the supply. If you have the right stimulation for the demand side, you realize that developers will develop houses that are affordable,” Akinlusi said.