Lagos needs N6 trillion annually to bridge 3.4 million-unit housing gap
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Research presented at a GTI Group forum shows Lagos requires about N6 trillion a year to bridge its housing capital gap, with the state's housing deficit now put at 3.4 million units.
Lagos requires about N6 trillion annually to bridge its housing capital gap, with the state's housing deficit now estimated at 3.4 million units, according to findings presented at a housing and capital forum organised by GTI Group Ltd on Thursday, August 20.
Prof. Timothy G. Nubi, founding director of the University of Lagos Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development, delivered a keynote titled 'Housing, Capital and the Future of Lagos' at the forum themed 'Beyond Rent: A Lagos Housing and Capital Forum'. He said the deficit increased from 2.95 million units in 2016 to 3.4 million units in 2025, a 15 percent rise over nine years.
Nubi noted that Nigeria's pension funds hold about N30 trillion in assets and are permitted to allocate up to 30 percent into Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), mortgages and asset-backed securities, yet actual allocation to housing-related instruments remains around 5 percent. He argued that the government cannot build its way out of the housing crisis alone, and that housing needs to shift from being viewed as a physical product to becoming an institutional investment asset channelled through REITs, bonds, asset-backed securities, crowdfunding and mortgage innovation.
GTI Capital Head of Research Abiodun Ogunniyi, presenting 'Beyond Rent: Mapping Lagos' Housing-Led Capital Expansion', estimated the annual housing capital gap at N6 trillion, equivalent to about three times Lagos State's entire capital budget. The research found rents across Lagos increased by between 80 and 120 percent from 2024 to 2026 while wages grew by only 7 to 9 percent over the same period, and that some residents spend between 60 and 70 percent of their income on rent.
The forum brought together stakeholders from government, housing, real estate, investment and economics, including Engr. Abdulhafis Gbolahan Toriola, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Housing; Dr. Bola Adigun of Deloitte; and Tolu Bawa-Allah, Managing Director of Prindex Properties.