High cost of land, inflation taking homes out of reach of middle-class – Big Homes MD

The Managing Director of Big Homes, Topsy Essien, said the high cost of land in Abuja, inflation and currency devaluation are taking housing out of the reach of the middle class.

He disclosed this at the weekend while opening a new apartment developed by Big Homes in Asokoro, Abuja.

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Essien, who said the target of Big Homes was to cater for the housing needs of middle-class Nigerians, lamented that the company is constantly finding it difficult to meet such targets as a result of inflation.

“The way the cost of land is in Abuja, it is really difficult for us to offer something as affordable as we would have wished,” he said.

“We are pleading that the government should make land affordable. We have so many lands in Abuja lying fallow. Let’s see how we can partner with them to make houses more affordable.

“You can actually own a home with N2.5m, N3m if the land is affordable.”

While noting that the devaluation of the currency and inflation was hitting the real estate sector hard, Essien said: “You can do your bill and you embark on a journey even with all your contingency plan, the kind of changes you find in the middle of the way makes it really hard for you to stay in business.”

Speaking about the new apartment, he said it is a semi-detached duplex of five-bedroom apartments in Asokoro with detached Boys’ Quarters each sitting on 2400 square metres of land.

He said the apartments are for sale for N250million each, which he said was the best price around the area.

On her part, the spokesperson of Big Homes, Ambassador Ijeoma Bristol, said: “The economy is not really helping, all part of the economy, construction, hospitality, you name it. There are problems, a lot of stress but Big Homes have managed to stay the course.”