Thursday, August 14, 2014

PROPERTY HOTSPOTS


There are so many new areas of development coming up in Lagos mostly on the outskirts of Lekki, Magodo Isheri Sango, Akowonjo, Epe and the list goes on. Traditional built up areas like Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Ikeja, Surulere and Yaba are being transformed daily and becoming unaffordable. Take a drive through some streets in Ikoyi or VI and they are impassable with potholes and stagnant lakes of water everywhere. The price of land in some of these areas is now worth more than the properties that stand on the land that is why developers are putting up multi story high rises with prices being quoted in dollars. Of course these areas and these properties are out of the reach of most. In order to maximise ones investment and possible future property rises, it is best to consider areas that have access to good existing infrastructure like roads, schools, power and transport, I say “existing infrastructure” because in many cases people have bought in areas where infrastructure was promised and years later nothing has been delivered, leaving the residents signing petitions and making complaints to government regulatory agencies. It is important to check out the area before buying there. Areas like Apapa which it is rumoured that property prices are depreciating due to the infrastructural decay, pollution and heavy traffic is a fantastic area to invest in if you can afford something there. The reason for this is that it is centrally located has already been tried and tested and has good infrastructure. It may be going through a period of depression now but it will certainly improve in years to come. Abijo, Ibeju Lekki and the Lekki Free trade Zone are also areas to consider as urbanisation on this axis is rapid; it is acquiring the required infrastructure and is still relatively affordable. All the mentioned areas are on solid land and not sand filled or reclaimed. A lot of new estates being built near lagoons and beaches are on sand filled land and care needs to be taken that the developers have carried out the necessary filling of the land and waterproofing of the buildings.

 Areas that need an injection of good quality residential apartments, is Surulere,Akoka, Yaba, Ilupeju, Maryland and Ikeja. At the moment a place like Surulere and its surrounding areas like Itire, Masha etc looks like they are in a confused state of commercialisation. All available single dwelling units on major streets are being converted into banks, eateries, malls, bars etc. It will require someone with vision and a deep pocket to develop some luxury dwellings for the residents give the community back the finesse that it once held, as the rapid overdevelopment of these areas has put severe pressure on its infrastructure and aesthetics with electric cables crisscrossing the roads and buildings haphazardly. Any developer wanting to gentrify these areas will have to buy up and probably demolish what is already there in order to start properly from the foundation up.

New developers are now building town houses, terraces, flats, high rises etc. The days of building one unit on one plot is over and done with. The demands of building multi tenanted units are that residents expect some considerations from the developer, like parking spaces, airconditioner plumbing, fitted kitchens, security gates and external cleaning, generators big enough to supply the whole development instead of individual sets which more than likely will constitute a nuisance to other residents through noise and carbon monoxide pollution.

 If one takes time to look, you will find affordable land and properties that are set to rise in price in the near future

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