FG TASKS CEOS OF MORTGAGE BANKS TO EXPLORE CREATIVE WAYS TO MAKE MORTGAGES MORE AFFORDABLE TO NIGERIANS 02-12-23
By Sadiq Aminu The Federal Government has called on Chief Executive Officers of mortgage banks to explore creative ways to make mortgages more affordable to Nigerians of all income brackets.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa who made the call in Abuja at a retreat organised by stakeholders in the mortgage banking sub sector said the nation’s Capital Market had not been maximally tapped to raise long term funds to refinance mortgage loans.
He said adopting the Rent to Own and Flexible Monthly Mortgage loan repayments would make commercial loans in the country more affordable.
The minister cited a report that identified some of the challenges in the sector which include, Affordability gap in home ownership, Dearth of long-Term Funds,
Critical Need for Enhanced Capital and Resource Base of Primary Mortgage Institutions, Difficulty in accessing Land and secure title to Land due to the shortcomings in the provision and implementation of the Land Use Act of 1978.
Others include, inadequate Legal Framework, Inadequate Housing Infrastructure, Inadequate incentives, concessions and taxes and non-availability of insurance Framework and Insufficient production and high cost of building materials as well as inadequate skilled labour.
He therefore stressed the need for all key players to find ways to navigate the macro, legal and policy bottlenecks to address challenges in the sector.
According to Mr Dangiwa, this could be achieved through effective leadership and innovations.
Mr Dangiwa commended the stakeholders for putting the event together with the theme, ” Advancing Sustainable and Affordable Housing in Nigeria: Navigating Macro-Economic, Legislative, and Policy Frontiers”.
Mr Dangiwa said president Bola Ahmed Tinubu was ready to partner all stakeholders to implement holistic housing reforms to chart a new course for the mortgage sector.
The minister maintained that the reforms include the Land Use Act,
National Housing Fund Act, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Establishment Act, Federal Housing Authority Act and
PenCom Act.
“Currently, we have a situation where the Land Use Act was enacted but there was no complementary institution set up alongside it to provide the necessary framework, guidelines, and regulations for operationalizing it. This will improve land titling and boost Nigeria’s ranking on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business where we currently rank 186th out of 190 countries.”
He said the ministry was also poised to establish building materials manufacturing hubs, construct over forty thousand houses which would be tagged the Renewed Hope Cities and upgrade slums across the country.
“Our Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Program seeks to deliver 40,000 housing units ranging from 1,000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geo-political zones of the country and FCT namely: Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Borno, Nasarawa, Rivers, and Enugu States.”