We are obviously not going to recover from the frenzy of Nigeria’s Mortgage Refinance Company, NMCR; at least not anytime soon. Since it was launched, no week has passed without an item of news, opinion, report, broadcast or sundry details about it– such is the faith our industry has in the scheme.
Experts such as Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran, Managing Director, UACN Property Development Company; Mr. Niyi Adeleye, Head of Real Estate Finance, Stanbic IBTC West Africa and others have however hinted that the NMRC, though a welcome development, is not a magic wand.
While their arguments are telescoped by the myriad of other challenges slowing down the industry, my concern has always been; giving the “mathematical wonder” expected of the scheme, where is the land? That is, even if all mortgage seekers receive mortgages at reasonable rates, where are the houses for them to buy? We all know the housing units in large supplies are not those targeted at the average Nigerian. Those targeted at them are not in the city centres, besides the fact that they are also in short supply.
Furthermore, everyone agrees that even the highbrow areas of states such as Lagos are overpriced for corporate and high income clients because of the scarcity of land. The implication is that except something is done about access to land, mortgages may truly be available, but the supply end of affordable homes for mid, mid-low market may remain unmatched. Thankfully, the NMRC is forward-looking enough in this regards, but the impact might not be felt sooner than expected.