Africa's largest megacity, Lagos, is now home to over 14 million people, from just 1.4 million as recently as 1970. Each year sees over 600,000 people settle in Lagos. At the city's current growth rate, it will be the seventh largest urban area in the world by 2020 and the fastest growing city amongst the world's 50 largest cities. 

 

According to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the real estate sector now contributes up to 15 percent of the recently rebased GDP. Investing in housing is considered to provide a significant multiplier effect on the broader economy as it contributes to GDP through two main drivers, namely private residential investments and consumption spending on housing services.

 

The growth recorded in the overall Nigerian real estate sector on a year-on-year basis stood at 11 percent in 2012 . This was demonstrative of a recovery in the sector, following significant falls influenced by the global downturn in 2009/10. Since then, the Nigerian property sector has witnessed a resurgence, particularly in the southern half of the country. According to a report by Agusto & Co. - a leading Pan-African credit rating and research agency - activity in Lagos accounts for at least 40 percent of the total Nigerian real estate market. According to the United Nations, around 58 million people will move to cities in sub-Saharan Africa this decade and Nigeria is at the heart of Africa's urbanization. 

 

Nigeria is currently assumed to have the capacity to create approximately one million housing units per year over the next 20 years. According to a survey of local real estate agents carried out by Lamudi, 81 percent of respondents believe that there is a great demand to build more houses and apartments in the country. Over half (52 percent) stated that more than one million new units are required to meet demand.

 

An interesting development across the country has been the rise in capacity and execution of state-level property development corporations in both residential and increasingly commercial developments. In the commercial real estate space, many Nigerian cities have seen increasing construction of Western-style shopping malls, such as the Ikeja City Mall in Lagos and the Enugu Polo Park Mall. Various similar developments are currently in planning stages, in both the larger and secondary cities across the country.