Expert Urges Creation Of Database For Real Estate Industry

Real estate.

A consultant on environment, Dr Oluwole Alade-Ojomo on Saturday said lack of information database was the major cause of low Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the real estate industry.

Alade-Ojomo, a government consultant on Environmental and Spatial Development, who disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, decried the virtually non-existence of property index in the country.

Alade-Ojomo said that an up-to-date information database on the real estate industry was the only way to attract FDI.

“Lack of information on property transaction has made Nigerian property market less attractive to foreign investors,’’ Alade-Ojomo said.

He said that foreign investors needed accurate and up-to-date information on the activities of the industry before they could invest, saying that embassies were not also equipped with such information.

“Lack of up-to-date information on the activities of the industry within the country and even in the embassies is a clog in the wheel for FDIs,” he said.

Alade-Ojomo said that most foreign investors would like to have idea of what they would be expecting before investing,“ even if it is just an estimated statistic’’.

He explained that Nigeria was one of the few countries in the world that the property market had been vibrant even during the global recession.

“This immunity to sudden crash of the industry should be exploited to the advantage of the industry,” he said.

Alade-Ojomo said information on the real estate industry and any other investment opportunity in the country was crucial due to the current security situation in the country.

“Many foreign investors believe that it’s impossible to do business in Nigeria due to its current security issues, which is not true and accurate information will educate foreign investors.

“Information on property transaction is very essential not just for local investors but also to attract foreign investors,” he said.

Alade-Ojomo urges stakeholders to come together and create an information database that could be accessible locally and abroad to enable investors to have a broad view of activities of the industry.

“Although, government input is required, we don’t need to wait for government to do this, in fact government does not have all the required information to properly empower investors,’’ he said. (NAN)