Real estate plays a very significant role in our world and it is a vital part of the essentials required to sustain mankind. There is hardly anything that is not sustained by some form of real estate from businesses, to family living, even recreation.
What is Real Estate?
Real estate refers to land and anything fixed, immovable, or permanently attached to it such as appurtenances, buildings, fences, fixtures, improvements, roads, shrubs and trees, sewers, structures, utility systems, and walls. It covers residential housing, commercial offices, trading spaces such as theatres, hotels and restaurants, retail outlets, industrial buildings such as factories and government buildings. Real estate involves the purchase, sale, and development of land, residential and non-residential buildings. The main players in the real estate market are the land owners, developers, builders, real estate agents, tenants, buyers, facilities managers etc.
Real estate can include business and/or residential properties, and are generally sold either by a realtor or directly by the individual who owns the property. It can also be termed as “an interest in land”. The word “interest” can mean either an ownership interest – where the investor is entitled to the full rights of ownership of the land and assumes the risks and responsibilities of a landowner; or a leasehold interest – where by a landowner agrees to pass some of his rights on to a tenant in exchange for a payment of rent. The real estate market is tied to the rest of the economy; when the economy thrives, so too does real estate.
Who are the key players in the Real Estate industry?
The key players in the real estate industry, include investors, financiers, developers, building and construction companies, mortgage banks, commercial banks, policy makers, realtors, property managers, quantity surveyors, lawyers, and tenants. These key players work hand in hand to ensure that the industry thrives and they are all dependents on their demand and supply.
What are the professional fields in the Real Estate Industry?
The Real Estate Industry comprises of four distinct fields: Sales and Leasing, Property Development, Property Management, Property Acquisition and Analysis.
In Nigeria, the most popular field is the Sales and Leasing as most parties believe that all that there is to real estate is the buying, leasing, and selling of properties. The least popular field is the Property Acquisition and Analysis as this requires in-depth knowledge of the market trends and also projections for future developments.
Real estate holdings are one of the most important asset classes, as it can be used as a hedge against inflation as well as to achieve diversification. Currently, real estate contributes less than 2% to Nigeria’s GDP. This is due to a range of factors like the lack of mortgage facilities, tax legislations, government policies, hitches in land acquisition, poor infrastructures etc which has hindered the growth of the real estate industry. This however also shows that there is a lot of room for growth in the industry if these issues are properly tackled.
The huge potential of the Nigerian real estate industry cannot be over emphasised. Experts have predicted that the industry will experience exponential growth through the influx of capital from both local and international investors. This year has already witnessed an increased interest in Nigerian real estate as there has been visible increase in the development of commercial structures, the commencement of The Mortgage Refinance Corporation (MRC), the introduction of The New National Housing Commission (NHF), change in the modus-operandi of the real estate business with more online presence, and much more.
There is a gradual evolution in the industry and this shows signs that exciting
REAL ESTATE TRIVIA
Question: What is the most expensive piece of property ever recorded in the world?
Answer: In October 1988, the Mediya Building in central Tokyo was quoted at $248,000 per square foot.
