NIESV president laments effects of COVID-19 on real estate

By Dada Jackson

The President of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr Emmanuel Wike, has said the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted negatively on the real estate.

Wike who said this while speaking on a television programme averred that the sector had witnessed a massive decline in its activities, adding that this development no doubt, has affected the income of professionals in the built environment.

According to him, the Federal Government’s planned economic stimulus for the real estate sector though commendable, accessing the funds by professionals is the problem.

Wike pointed out, the Federal Government should provide the enabling environment for professionals in the construction industry to build affordable housing for the teeming masses.

He lamented a situation where the mortgage institutions were not been fully utilised, adding that this has hampered majority of Nigerians from owing a house of their own.

The NIESV helmsman said at the height of the pandemic, most people could not meet up with their rent, hence income from the management of some facilities began to dwindle.

He decried the high tax being paid realtors, noting that the government should do something about it if only to allow the real estate sector thrive.