Why Land and Housing Are Now Luxury Goods in Nigeria

■ INTRODUCTION

In today’s Nigeria, buying land or owning a house has quietly shifted from being a normal life achievement to a privilege reserved for politicians, high-ranking public servants, and people earning in the millions. For the average worker earning ₦50,000–₦200,000 per month, homeownership has become a distant dream. The Nigerian real estate market has simply priced ordinary Nigerians out of shelter — a basic necessity.

1. Land Prices Have Gone Beyond Reality.
In most major cities, especially Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and even rapidly growing towns like Asaba, Warri and Uyo, land prices no longer reflect income levels.
A small plot in Abuja can start from ₦8m–₦40m+
A plot in Lagos Mainland can be ₦10m–₦100m
Even village lands now go for ₦2m–₦5m

These figures make zero sense in a country where the minimum wage is ₦30,000 and even many graduates earn less than ₦100,000.
The market has detached itself from economic reality.

2. Salary Earners Cannot Compete
Let’s be practical:
Someone earning ₦150,000 per month cannot buy a ₦10m plot without saving 100% of their salary for 5 years.
A ₦50,000 minimum-wage earner would need over 16 years to buy the same land — and that is assuming land prices do not increase.
The truth is simple:
Real estate is no longer priced for workers. It is priced for politicians, elites, and people with access to public money.

3. Developers Are Targeting the Top 1%.
Modern estates, luxury apartments, and “smart homes” are everywhere — but who are they for?
Most developers are building for:
Politicians
Oil & gas executives
Foreign investors
Diaspora buyers
Corporate elites
Nobody is building for the average Nigerian. The result is a widening housing inequality gap.

4. Corruption and Laundering Are Driving Prices Up.
This is the truth many avoid:
Property has become the easiest way to hide, clean, or store questionable money.
Because of this:
People overpay for land, just to “wash money.”
Estates are sold out instantly because somebody is investing public funds.
Prices rise artificially, and developers price land as if every buyer is a millionaire.
The effect is that honest workers are pushed out of the market.

5. The Housing Deficit Makes Everything Worse.
Nigeria has a housing deficit of 17–22 million units, depending on the report. Demand is high, supply is low — and when demand is higher than supply, prices skyrocket.
But the real issue is the wrong type of supply:
We have an oversupply of luxury housing and an undersupply of affordable homes.

6. Government Policies Do Not Support Affordable Housing.
The Land Use Act makes accessing land difficult.
The cost of:
C of O
Governor’s consent
Survey
Perfection of title.
…is too high. In some states, perfecting title can cost up to 30–40% of the property value.
No functional mortgage system.
No rent-to-own schemes.
No mass housing programs that truly work.
Everything favours the rich.

7. The Result: Nigeria Is Creating a Homeless Middle Class
Not homeless in the physical sense — but homeless in reality because they will never own a home.
The middle class is shrinking.
Young families rent forever.
People depend on inheritance for land.
Workers retire without owning property.
Shelter is becoming a luxury.

8. What Can Be Done?
To reverse this trend, Nigeria must:
1. Reform the Land Use Act
Make land allocation people-centered, not government-centered.
2. Regulate land and housing costs
Not price control, but cost transparency and fair valuation.
3. Provide real mortgage systems
Not 25-year nonsense at 20% interest — that is not a mortgage, that is punishment.
4. Build mass housing for real people
Not “affordable” housing that starts at ₦15m.
5. Fight corruption in real estate
Make property declaration, verification, and pricing transparent.

■ Conclusion.
The price of land and housing in Nigeria is not rising because the economy is growing. It is rising because the system is broken — a system that rewards corruption, excludes workers, and elevates shelter into a luxury item.
Until Nigeria uproots these systemic failures, land will remain a dream for the majority and a toy for the privileged few.