Group wants governments to address housing deficit

By Diana Omueza

A global Real Estate Company, Gtext Homes, has advised the federal and state governments to prioritise investment in the real estate sector to tackle the housing deficit in the country.

Mr Farouq Usman, the Branch Manager of the Gtext Homes, gave the advice at a news conference organised by the company to announce its presence in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to Usman, more investments in the sector will reduce the high cost of purchasing houses as well as make houses available.

Usman said that one of the major ways to tackle the challenges of the housing deficit in the country, especially in the FCT was through investment by the government in the real estate sector.

According to him, if government invests in real estate as it does in agriculture and other sectors, it will get its return on investment faster and use its dividends to invest in other sectors.

“Real estate is an assured way for rapid and sustainable growth and development in any government.

“The government needs to begin to see real estate as the future of any government because it is the number one assured and guaranteed way to make huge Returns on Investment (ROI) within a short period of time.

“Also, investing in real estate through empowerment of housing developers and contractors will reduce the cost of purchasing or procuring houses, and also make houses available and affordable.

“There are so many private individuals and investors who are available to develop houses because they have the capacity to do so, all they need is government support.

“Government support in terms of making lands available for development and not just any type of land, but lands that are located at safe and serene environment.

“Government should also make large expanse of lands available, which will allow the development and construction of world-standard facilities.

“This is because; developers need large mass or expanse of lands that can accommodate the desired facilities of the developers, where certain features will be included in the design and constructions.

“Facilities such as social, religious and recreational centres, natural gardens, schools and neighbourhood libraries and health facilities and many more.

“If the government makes this type of support available, housing deficits will be a thing of the past and Nigerians will begin to see, have, buy and live in their dream houses, especially here in the nation’s capital,’’ he said.

Ms Queeneth Uchendu, the Assistant Branch Manager of Gtext, urged government partnership, private partnership and collaborations, as well as associate partnership in order to develop and build standard structures in the FCT.

According to her, Gtext has the vision to build 25,000 housing units in 200 estates across the FCT which will meet modern standards, as well as mass availability and affordability.

“For us to achieve this vision, we need different forms of partnership from buying of houses, to buying of lands, capital investment, contractor partnership and associates to sell our products,’’ she said.

Mr Sani Danja, the company’s Brand Ambassador and a prolific actor in the Arewa film and movies industry, lauded the quality of products offered by the company.

He urged the government, investors and developers to take advantage of the opportunities available to make huge returns on investment by partnering with Gtext.

He also said that partnering with the company was an assured way for other companies to build their brands and spread their tentacles both locally and internationally.

“I decided to work with Gtext company because of its quality, credibility and absence of real estate scandals.

“It is not easy for you to have a brand that has a huge investment in the UK, United States, in the Emirates and still maintain quality and credibility, as well as maintain a scandal-free profile.

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“Now they have brought the same quality investment opportunities back home to meet the needs of quality housing and other facilities in the FCT.

“I advise investors to take advantage of the partnership offer being made available to promote their brands and form strong synergy in the real estate sector globally,’’ he said.

(NAN)