Insurgency reduces property cost in Maiduguri

Mass destruction of buildings and the general insecurity in the North-east region might be part of the reasons properties are now relatively cheap in Maiduguri the Borno State capital, property owners and estate managers in the state have said. Property owners in choice areas of Maiduguri like the old and new Government Reservation Areas (GRAs), […]

Mass destruction of buildings and the general insecurity in the North-east region might be part of the reasons properties are now relatively cheap in Maiduguri the Borno State capital, property owners and estate managers in the state have said.
Property owners in choice areas of Maiduguri like the old and new Government Reservation Areas (GRAs), Polo, Jiddari Polo, Lagos Street and Giwa Army Barracks areas said they are finding it difficult to get buyers for their houses even as the properties are always under priced.
Dr Felicia Tobore, the proprietress of a defunct private school in the state, Fellows Academy told Daily Trust that for three years now, her estate managers have not got buyers for her property at Polo because people prefer to rent than buy properties in the state due to security challenges.
“It’s a four-bedroom bungalow on a 450sqm land that was valued N32 million in 2007. I’m looking for N25 million but nobody is even pricing near that amount. In addition to the insecurity situation in the state,  the defunct administration of Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and the present administration of Governor Kashim Shettima have all built so many estates in the state capital.
“Those estates have not only served in accommodating internally displaced persons in the state, but they also assist in bringing down the cost of houses as the state government is selling them to individuals at affordable price.
“Except for the houses built for teachers in the state and Bakassi Estate built for displaced persons, all other estates built by the present administration in the state like the 1,000 Housing Estate and the 1,000 blocks of four flats each called the Legacy Housing Estate are all meant to be sold to individuals in the state. That is why you can see a standard two-bedroom flat to rent at N120,000 to N250,000 per annum,” she said.
Mr Adelani Adesiyan who is into estate and property marketing and development with Messrs Oyeyemi Idowu & Co told this reporter that the cost of buying property in Maiduguri has dropped compared to what it used to be before the insurgency era because people are no more interested in investing in property for fear of destruction by insurgents.  
“I have been into estate marketing and management in this state for over 30 years now. A three-bedroom bungalow or flat on a 450sqm (100 feet by 50 feet) land before 2009 at the old GRA went for N30 million to N40 million depending on the location and how good the building was. Areas near the GRA like Jiddari Polo, Polo area, Lagos Street and near Giwa barracks, you could get similar property then at N25 million to N30 million.
“Two-bedroom bungalow or flat at the old GRA before 2009 went for N25 million to N30 million. In the areas surrounding the old GRA, one could get the same two-bedroom flat at N15 million to N18 million. But as we are talking now, you can get a three-bedroom flat or bungalow in the GRA at N15 million to N25 million and as low as N15 million when you go to those other areas around the GRA,” he said.
Mr Adesiyan attributed the fall in the value of property in the state to insecurity, failure of businesses in the state and the fear that insurgents may attack and destroy the property, saying, “We valued a property N8 million recently but to my surprise, the owner is asking for just N5 million, yet nobody has come to buy yet. It is a two-bedroom flat.
“People seem to be more interested in renting than buying these days. There is a property in my care that we are collecting N500,000 rent per annum. The owner wants to sell it and is asking for only N5 million but nobody is willing to buy. That is how bad the situation is,” he said.