Lekki Gardens projects 1m housing units by 2023

With what is, arguably, an impressive outing in the last three years during which it excited the Nigerian housing market with about 15,000 housing units in a total of 48 projects, Lekki Gardens is out again with an ambitious projection that targets one million housing units to be delivered by 2023.

This target, according to officials of the company, is aimed at further consolidating the young and dynamic company’s status as the “game changer” in the Nigerian real estate market where it has demystified and broken the affordability jinx.

The new target, which promises to be a record achievement by any private developer, will see the firm spread its footprints from the current Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt property market to at least 12 states in the country and subsequently Africa.
The firm which currently boasts of over 15,000 housing units in its existing 48 projects is confident that the country’s real estate sector holds an immense opportunity driven primarily by high household spend on rental and purchase.
Analysts estimate that Nigeria’s 17million housing deficit holds a market potential of $500 billion, pointing out that only 25 percent of the said deficit accounts for an effective demand.
Disclosing this at the company’s recent real estate investment forum tagged ‘Unlocking the Opportunities in Nigeria Real Estate Market’,  Richard Nyong, the Chief Executive Officer, noted that, with families spending between 40 to 70 percent of their income on real estate, the sector remains investors-delight.

Nyong explained that in an effort to tap into these new opportunities, his firm had to develop unique capacities such as deeper managerial skills, accountability and huge infrastructure investment.

Recalling the beginning of the brand’s success story in just three years of its existence, the Lekki Gardens boss narrated that from one estate of 350 housing units in January 2012; two estates of 2,000 housing units in January 2013; 21 projects with about 7,000 housing units in 2014, the brand now has a total of 48 projects accounting for 15,000 housing units sold so far.

“Our presence in the industry has dropped house prices by as much as 50 percent across all the locations of our projects and we are happy we are pioneering that change,” he said, adding that the brand’s lower prices and effective marketing strategy were part of a well-thought out strategy which distinguishes it from its contemporaries.

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On its future prospects, Nyong is optimistic of his firm’s ability to deliver at least 100,000 housing units in the next two to three years, even as it targets the one million units mark in the next eight years.

“In the next two years, we hope to have delivered about 100,000 housing units especially with the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) coming up; we believe the sector is being unlocked so that cash flow can get better. We also aim to deliver one million housing units in the next eight years,” he assured.

This ambitious goal, he said, has informed his firm’s decision to pace its growth, become more open and effectively structure its business model to enable it leverage some emerging innovations in the sector such as the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) and the Capital market.