Education
Real estate future lies in execution, innovation, value creation – Okoro – EnviroNews
– Advertisement –
Lagos-based estate surveyor and valuer, Chief M. I. Okoro, has called for a shift from land speculation to productive development and long-term value creation in Nigeria’s real estate sector.
Okoro made the call on Friday, October 2, 2026, while delivering the keynote address at the Real Estate Expo Symposium marking the 88th anniversary of Ikoyi Club 1938 in Lagos.
Speaking on the theme, “The Future of Real Estate: Investment, Innovation and Wealth Creation,” Okoro said Nigeria had abundant opportunities in real estate, driven by rapid urbanisation, population growth, housing demand and infrastructure needs.
However, he stressed that opportunity alone could not create wealth.
“Opportunity does not create wealth. Execution creates wealth,” he said, adding that the future of real estate would belong to those who build and create value rather than those who simply buy land and wait.
According to him, real estate should be viewed beyond bricks and mortar, noting that land encompasses the airspace above it, the minerals beneath it and the water around it.
He said every class of real estate serves a developmental purpose, with homes building communities, offices supporting businesses, factories creating jobs, logistics hubs strengthening supply chains and agricultural land contributing to food security.
Okoro, who is also past office bearer and Captain of Ikoyi Club 1938, cited the development of Abuja, Eko Atlantic and emerging infrastructure corridors as examples of how bold decisions and sustained execution could unlock real estate value.
He identified infrastructure as a major determinant of property value, saying roads, transportation, power, water, drainage, security and digital connectivity could transform previously overlooked locations into thriving economic corridors.
He specifically pointed to developments along the Lagos–Epe Expressway and the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Road, as well as the expansion of Lagos’ rail network, as factors capable of opening new areas for real estate development.
“I would urge every investor in this hall to follow the infrastructure pipeline. That is where the next value corridor will be,” he said.
Technology transforming real estate
On innovation, Okoro said technology was already transforming the ways properties were searched for, valued, designed, constructed, marketed, financed and managed.
He identified artificial intelligence, data analytics, digital mapping, building information modelling and smart-building systems as technologies that would increasingly shape the sector.
He noted that digital land records and survey plans could make title searches faster and more difficult to manipulate, while drones had significantly reduced the time required for site surveys.
However, he warned that technology could also facilitate fraud through fake property listings, doctored title documents and phantom developments.
“Technology must strengthen professional judgment, never replace it,” he cautioned, stressing the continuing importance of experience, integrity and due diligence.
Okoro also called for improved real estate market data, including reliable information on property values, rents, vacancy rates, construction costs, population movements and development trends.
He urged professional bodies to collaborate on a shared market-data initiative, arguing that an industry unable to measure itself would struggle to attract serious capital.
Nigeria needs affordable housing
Addressing Nigeria’s housing challenge, Okoro said the future of the real estate sector could not be discussed without confronting the affordability crisis.
He cited the National Housing Data Technical Committee report released in January 2026, which, according to him, put Nigeria’s 2025 housing deficit at about 14.9 million units, while government data released in December 2025 indicated that about 15.2 million existing homes were structurally inadequate.
He said the challenge therefore involved both building new homes and improving existing housing stock.
Okoro commended the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Housing initiative and the mortgage arrangement under MREIF, which he said involved a 10 per cent subscriber contribution and financing of up to ₦100 million repayable over 20 years.
He nevertheless called for further measures to enable the scheme to operate at scale.
Among his proposals was a system under which employers would be encouraged, and eventually required, to support employee home ownership through employer contributions, payroll deductions and government-backed mortgages.
According to him, such an arrangement could provide workers with access to home ownership while helping employers build a more stable workforce and creating predictable demand in the housing market.
He also called for greater institutional investment, more efficient construction methods and wider use of local building materials such as laterite and compressed earth bricks to reduce construction costs.
He stressed that affordable housing must also be connected to employment centres, transportation and other essential services.
“A cheap house far from jobs, transport and services is not a solution,” he said. “The same house connected by good roads, rail or water transport becomes a real home and a real asset.”
Calls for deeper real estate financing
Okoro said Nigeria needed deeper participation in real estate financing by pension funds, insurance companies, banks, development finance institutions and private equity.
He, however, noted that capital would only flow where investors had confidence in projects and transactions.
He identified proper documentation, transparent transactions, sound governance, credible projections, professional management and clean legal titles as essential requirements for attracting investment.
“The future of real estate finance is not about finding money. It is about creating investible projects,” he said.
For individual investors, Okoro advised them to invest along infrastructure corridors, maintain strict due diligence on property titles and consider collective investment vehicles such as Real Estate Investment Trusts and pooled funds.
He said such mechanisms could enable ordinary savers to participate in large-scale professionally managed property projects while helping channel more domestic capital into housing.
Sustainability, integrity critical to property value
The estate surveyor also stressed the importance of professionalism, transparency and ethical conduct in real estate transactions, describing trust as fundamental to the sector’s growth.
He warned against poor construction standards and called for buildings that could withstand the test of time.
Okoro further linked sustainability to investment performance, particularly in Lagos, where he said flood resilience could determine whether an asset retained or lost its value.
He identified energy efficiency, water conservation, drainage, waste management and green spaces as factors that would increasingly distinguish resilient assets from vulnerable ones.
He also highlighted title insecurity, inflation, rising building-material costs and weak enforcement of building standards as major risks confronting the sector.
He urged professionals and investors to confront these risks openly and manage them effectively.
In his concluding remarks, Okoro said investment provided capital, innovation multiplied its impact, while execution converted both into lasting wealth.
“Nigeria does not lack opportunity. What we need are builders: people willing to plan properly, invest patiently, act with integrity and see projects through,” he said.
He urged participants at the symposium to commit to concrete projects, partnerships or higher professional standards capable of moving the industry from speculation to value creation.
“When we gather to celebrate Ikoyi Club 1938 at 100, let us be able to look back and say that we did not just buy land. We built,” he said.