Managing Director, Efficacy Homes, Dr. Leke Ajiboye |
www.hbng.com |
Over the last couple of years, properties in some areas of Lagos have
appreciated while a lot more have depreciated. This trend has been
found to be due to the availability or lack of infrastructure in such
environs. This was the view postulated by Dr. Leke Ajiboye, the
Managing Director of Efficacy Homes.
He also believes that real estate can only be developed by
infrastructure. “Because of the airport going on in that axis now, Epe
properties have really gone up. Properties that are close to Epe from
Ikorodu like Agbowa are now hot cake. I have been looking for genuine
land in Agbowa for the last two to three years, I have not seen. So you
see, when there is infrastructural development, people can live
anywhere.
“For instance, if government does a railway from Sagamu, I would
prefer to live on a one acre land in Sagamu and be buying a first-class
coach train tickets to VI and when I get to VI, find my way to the
office. That land and house might not cost me more than N20m and I will
live a comfortable life, live long, I’d be fresh; compared to if I live
in Ikeja and have to wake up at 5am to get to the office at 7.30am. So
the evolution of real estate is a function of how the government pays
attention to infrastructural development”, he said.
Furthermore, the University of Lagos-trained engineer said that more
locations are opening up around the metropolis due to the construction
of new roads. “Mile 2 axis now, there are a lot of activities going on
there; prices are going up because roads are opening up. If the new
government tries to abandon it, it would become an eyesore again. But if
the government is able to open up new locations, properties will start
going up and the ones that are extremely up will start coming down.
Because there is no reason why I should live in Gbagada when the land
there is N50m and still wake up 6am to get to the office at 7.30am
because of the traffic. I would rather take a train from Sagamu to VI,
sleep and relax on the train and come to the office. Again, prices of
such properties will come down. People will not be crazy to live in one
particular location and they would still reach their goals. There is no
traffic on the railway. That is what developed countries do”, he
explained.
Ajiboye also said that security is important. According to him, in
an area where government has provided infrastructure but no security,
people avoid living there. “If there is no security is Lagos State
today, people will move out of Lagos. If there is no confidence that
this government can protect lives and property, people will look for
somewhere else where there is safety. Ogun should be the state that is
benefiting from all the excess of the population of Lagos but there is
no security; that is the truth. People that are living just there in
Ibafo and Mowe are going through a lot because there is no rural
development. Apart from that major road, you can count the number of
roads that are tarred inside. I have seen people build properties in
Ibafo and come back to rent in Lagos”, he said.
For the Efficacy Homes boss, traffic is another major issue because
if traffic is not well managed, real estate cannot develop. He
explained that if the traffic situation is addressed appropriately,
people can anywhere in Lagos and work at the other end of town. “Then,
people can buy properties in Agbara and live in VI when there is train.
And it will help a lot of industries. Bricklayers will work,
carpenters and masons will work. Construction is the largest industry
that employs the common man because from one supplier, many families
feed.
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