The Federal Government has announced plans to construct 100,000 social housing units across Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas to support vulnerable groups.
Speaking at the Real Estate Future Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, urged global investors to explore Nigeria’s housing market.
“Nigerians need homes now more than ever, and you can partner with the government to deliver these houses at scale,” he told journalists.
Dangiwa stated that Nigeria’s housing deficit of 28 million units is caused by growing urbanization.
To address this, the government is prioritizing large-scale housing projects through public-private partnerships, innovative financing, and streamlined land acquisition processes.
He stressed that balancing affordability and returns remains a challenge, but assured investors of incentives such as low-interest financing, pre-completion sales and bank purchase guarantees.
Dangiwa highlighted efforts to improve sustainability, including energy-efficient buildings, local materials and modular housing technology.
The establishment of Building Materials Manufacturing Hubs across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones is expected to cut costs and create jobs.
To improve homeownership accessibility, he revealed plans to recapitalize the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria with ₦500 billion and introduce a Real Estate Investment Fund aimed at lowering mortgage interest rates from 28-30% to 12%.
Rent-to-own plans and monthly rental assistance items are also being launched to make houses more accessible to Nigerians with lower incomes.
The Minister also emphasised Nigeria’s commitment to digitising land registration in conjunction with the World Bank, with the goal of increasing transparency and making transactions easier.
Declaring that the Nigerian real estate sector is “open for business,” Dangiwa reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strong policies, regulatory reforms and investment-friendly incentives.
While acknowledging concerns about balancing affordability and returns, he stressed that “smart policies, innovative financing and sustainable construction” can spur real estate growth without compromising investor returns.