By Christiana Ekpa
Nigeria’s housing deficit has surpassed 15 million units, with poor access to mortgage financing continuing to undermine efforts to provide affordable shelter for millions of citizens, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma, disclosed on Monday.
Speaking in Abuja at a stakeholders’ conference on the proposed National Real Estate Regulatory Authority, Darma pointed to weak mortgage penetration and structural obstacles as critical barriers to sector growth.
He noted that despite Nigeria’s population reaching an estimated 240 million, mortgage penetration remains below 10 percent—far behind countries like Malaysia at 38 percent and South Korea at 40 percent.
Darma emphasized that real estate and the built environment represent the third-largest contributor to the national economy.
While expressing the Federal Government’s support for the proposed regulatory authority, he suggested positioning it under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to maintain policy alignment and effective oversight.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, emphasized that the proposed regulatory body aims to protect property buyers and investors by standardizing operations.
Abbas proposed establishing a national register for developers and property projects, implementing protected accounts for off-plan investments, and building a digital land title verification system to curb fraud.
Abbas also called for a Unified National Real Estate Enforcement Architecture to streamline inter-agency coordination against property crimes.
Highlighting existing intervention efforts, he noted that the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund has deployed N140 billion through 21 financial institutions as of August 2026, backing 2,018 mortgages across 27 states with 20-year repayment windows at a fixed 9.75 percent interest rate.
Addressing existing regulatory gaps, the Chairman of the House Committee on Housing and Habitat, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, explained that overlapping mandates and minimal entry barriers have allowed unqualified individuals to operate as developers.
He reassured state authorities and professional associations that the new framework would complement, rather than usurp, their statutory roles.
Adding a practical caution, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr. Armstrong Ume Takang, warned against regulatory overreach that could conflict with the Land Use Act, deter private investors, or needlessly expand government recurrent expenditure.
The conference brought together lawmakers, federal officials, property developers, and financial leaders to refine the proposed bill into a sustainable framework for the national real estate market.
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