SURVEY OF PRICES OF PROPERTIES ON THE ISLAND

	Sales price	Rental per annum
Lekki Phase 1
3 Bedroom flat	N45m – N50m	N2.5m – N3m
4 Bedroom wing of duplex	N70m – N80m	N3m – N4m
Agungi
4 Bedroom detached house	N45m – N50m	N2.5m
3 Bedroom flat	N40m	N1.5m – N1.8m
Chevy view
4 Bedroom terrace house	N42m	N2.5m
3 Bedroom flats	N35m	N1.6m
Crown Estate
4 Bedroom detached house	N30m – N40m	N1.5m – N2m
Thomas Estate, Ajah
3 Bedroom flat	N25m	N750k – N800k
Abraham Adesanya
3 Bedroom bungalow	N12m – N14m	N700k – N1m
2 Bedroom bungalow	N11m – N12m	N500k – N650k
Northern Foreshore
4 Bedroom bungalow	N39m – N45m	N2.5m
Victoria Garden City
3 Bedroom flat	N30m	N2m
Prime Water view
3 Bedroom flat	N32m	N2.5m
Lekki County Homes
3 Bedroom terrace duplex	N30m	N1.5m

Ken Egedi

MY BRT EXPERIENCE

My o my! These were the words that dropped out of my mouth the fateful Wednesday of last week. My car had developed an engine fault and I could not risk driving it in the ubiquitous traffic that Lagos has become known for. I was running late for a meeting on the Island; a bead of sweat broke out on my face, it was 8 O'clock in the morning. So I decided to take a ride in the mammy-wagon (gratuitously called BRT in our local parlance). As Lagosians, we love speed and for the first time, we are able to move from one part of the city to another unhindered by gridlocks (or so I thought). The dedicated corridors guarantee that passengers in BRT vehicles get to their destinations without undue delay.

BRT Buses taking after their predecessors

WHAT CAN I BUY? - BUDGET HOMES

Ogba on a N5million budget

With its quick transport links to Ikeja (about 10 to 30 minutes depending on time of day, Ogba can be considered ‘central’ and following from this, prices of property are generally over the N5million limit. However, due to the various Government and LSDPC estates in the location, there are some flats which are on the market in this price range. One such estate is the LSDPC Oluwole Community  Estate where a two bedroom flat advertised by Victor Okpera & Co for N4.5million. A typical Government flat, the finishing is modest and the two bedrooms are of an average size with a bathroom and toilet. This particular flat is on the ground floor of the prototype 3 floor blocks and there are four clusters with three of such blocks in each cluster. Oluwole Estate with its high density environment sadly will have to accept the tag of barracks so it cannot be recommended as a dream home. On the flip side with rents in the N300,000 to N350,000 per annum range and the possibility of negotiating the sale price to N4m (average price in the estate) the 7.5 to 8.75% return is above average. No wonder, most owners there have let out their properties.

Lagos Still Among World's Costliest Cities

MAUREEN AZUH writes on a new survey that classifies Lagos as one of the 50 most expensive cities in the world

As the biggest commercial centre of Nigeria, Lagos, has always been in the limelight. Before now various Internet sources had indicated that Lagos is the second fastest growing city in Africa and the seventh fastest in the world. A recent survey by Mercer, a global outsourcing and consulting firm, has also ranked Lagos among the 50 most expensive cities of the world for expatriates. The survey, tagged World Cost of Living Survey 2012, covered 124 cities across five continents and placed Lagos at the 39th position, two steps up from the 41st position it occupied last year.

According to the report, published online, the survey was based on measures of the comparative cost of 200 items in each of the surveyed country. The items included transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. Housing cost, regarded as constituting the biggest expense for expatriates, also played an important role in determining the ranking of cities. The survey is designed to help multinational companies and governments to determine compensation allowances for their expatriates. While New York is used as the base city against which all other cities are compared, currency movements are measured against the US dollar.

5 Mistakes of Real Estate firms in Nigeria

It seems to me that every once in a while we see new realtors come into the real estate industry and at the same time we see droves of them leave. I’ve been wondering to myself, why is this? What makes the ones who stay survive and what makes the others leave?

1. No clear cut difference between marketing and sales: Real estate is a people empowering business and not just a numbers business. You need to desire to help people to own their own spaces. It’s not all about the numbers (it’s big business when you cash in) but a strong yearning to get people to own their own spaces on whatever budget they have would really go a long way. To meet the needs and wants of your target is what marketing is about while sales is the act of selling a product or service for money. Realtors in Nigeria would rather be sales people than marketing people; this isn’t kosher.

I'm moving!!!

Finally, I am moving out of my old apartment into my new house! Remember I told you I was going to remodel my kitchen; totally changed my mind as I realize I need bigger space. The feeling of moving into my new place is so exciting!!! I grew up traveling to different states of Nigeria as the daughter of a military officer and I always looked forward to wherever dad was going to be transferred next.

I’ll be starting a new adventure, putting down roots in a new place. I’d been dreaming about the new home I just acquired, and it will be fun to see how fresh and different my new place will be.

After all the exhilaration dies down, I’ll have to start packing. Over the years I had gathered so much stuff which I have attached sentiments to and there was no way I was going to leave anything behind! This is a daunting task; deciding what I need to pack first or how to pack this vase or that CD player. *phew*

Psst… I have a secret!!!

Have you ever heard about the NHF (National Housing Fund) mortgage loan in Nigeria? Ha, you haven’t heard? You can access this trust fund to get a mortgage facility from FMBN (Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria) to build a house. Yes, you!

Daycare service providers

There was a time in Nigeria, in fact, in the world when women did the job nature asked them to, home makers and carers! The typical day for the ‘olden days’ woman was to wake up at a normal time, say 6:30am, prepare a meal for the family, wake, bathe and feed the kids (and her hubby of course), take the kids to school, do the laundry, go to the market, have a mid-day nap, pick the kids from school, tutor them in their homework, feed them for dinner, send them off to sleep, go to bed early herself and then resume the cycle again the next day. If she was from the eastern part of Nigeria, she may likely not even do the laundry and shopping in the market as she would have a ‘small girl’ to help her out at home. Those were the good old days. *sigh*