Why Distance Shouldn’t Always Matter When Buying A Land In Lagos
- Posted by Karo Itoje in Blog Updates, Land Tips and Advice
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This article is one of those that was influenced by my discussion with one of my clients. Whenever I have a discussion with a prospect or client and I feel visitors to this site can benefit from that discussion, I write an article on it and publish here. I hope you find this Lagos Real Estate Investment tips helpful.
Now to the subject matter of this article. Should distance matter when investing in real estate in Lagos?
The answer is Yes and No.
When Distance should matter
If you are buying a land to build on or buying a house to call a home and you have an 8-5 job that you won’t be changing anytime soon then it is important to consider how close the location is to your place of work and traffic report in the area. So that going to and from work isn’t too stressful on you. However if this isn’t the case then trust me when I say distance shouldn’t be among what you consider when making a buying decision.
Distance Shouldn’t Matter When Investing in Lagos Real Estate
So I took a client to see East Amber Estate in Abijo GRA a few weeks ago and though he loved the estate very much he thought it was a bit far. When he said that I was surprised because Abijo is just a 5 minutes drive from Sangotedo. Sangotedo is a few minutes drive after Ajah and Ajah is just after VGC.
Obviously my client is one of those that doesn’t want to go farther than Sangotedo. If that’s the case still he shouldn’t be concerned because he isn’t buying the land to inhabit himself. When you’re not buying a land or property for personal use then you should only be concerned about one thing when making a buying decision and that is:
Does this property have potential for quick high returns?
If you’ve read the article How I Help Nigerians Abroad Invest Safely And Get High ROI From Land Banking you will know that Sangotedo/Abijo area is among the hot areas in Lagos right now in terms of property appreciation which is why I recommend the area for land banking and people buying property for investment purpose.
I told my client if he thought Abijo was far then what will he say/do when we have to drive to Ibeju Lekki after Dangote refinery where he previously bought three plots? (He bought the land without physically inspecting).
I went on to add that when buying a land especially one that you don’t intend to live on, distance should have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with it. It should be only about potential for price appreciation and the standard of the estate coming up there.
To drive home my point I reminded him of the house in an estate in Ajah that he wanted me to look at and value for him. The house was such a beautiful house. A 5 bedroom apartment with mini flat and a self contain and swimming pool with good parking space. The owner was asking for N80million. And he was negotiating for N60million. I looked at the house and told him if the house was in a beautiful well laid out estate with fine architecture then it could have been worth even N100million. But because of the kind of estate that it was in, the house isn’t worth more than N65-70million. The estate looked local. Nothing showing class. No gate cameras. No sensors. No waterfall. ETC. So people that would want that kind of house wouldn’t want the estate and therefore no high demand, which means lower price. In fact the owner is selling the house because he decided to move his family to a more architecturally pleasing estate nearby.
Through this website prospects contact me regularly wanting to buy a land or property in Amen Estate phase 2, many to build and inhabit and some for investment purpose. And Amen estate is still at least 15 minutes drive away from Abijo where he claims is far. So why are people choosing Amen estate phase 2 over much closer estates and paying N12million/plot for it?
Infrastructure! The company delivered something rare in their phase 1 that everyone long for. Something so good that some Nigerian celebrities including Funke Akindele aka Jenifa bought houses there. So now phase 2, many want to be included. Most of the people investing there are people who are used to better lifestyles and will go anywhere they find it. These people include those abroad and those in Magodo, Lekki and VI.
Good infrastructure also means good price appreciation. Before February 2018 Amen estate phase 2 was selling for N10million now it sells for N12million. And I predict that by December 2018 it will sell for N15million.
I drive with different prospects to Ibeju Lekki regularly after the dangote refinery and very rarely do I have a prospect who complain that the place is far, which honestly it is. Most of our estates there is located at least 1 hour drive from Ajah Lekki. But who cares?! What we (yes I invest too) who are investing there care about is the Future coming there. There are many doubting Thomas when it comes to the proposed projects especially the Smart City coming to Ibeju Lekki, but we know better. It may not all happen within a few years but it will happen. We have learnt our lesson from what happened with Lekki Phase 1. Two decades ago most part of Lekki phase 1 was covered in bushes. Undeveloped area that most people didn’t want any part of. Many thought it was too far too. But now they all regret it.
Something else you should know about Lagos real estate is that as long as it is Lagos, that bush you see will not be there for long. The population of Lagos will always drive quick development for Lagos properties.
So please be wiser with your Real Estate investments. Make sure you are not sentimental about it and only logical in other to maximize profit from your investments.
Also Read:
Nigeria Real Estate Investment – Why Invest In Lagos Properties
Why Invest Now In A Land In Ibeju Lekki Lagos Nigeria
How Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo Made Over N4Billion In Real Estate
The Problem With Waiting To Buy Land/Property – Clients Experiences
