Explore international real estate opportunities, why invest in Nigeria when you could own properties in Dubai, Singapore, the U.S., or the U.K.?
I was reading an article the other day by The Guardian, according to the article over 800 properties worth about $400 million in Dubai, United Arab Emirates have been traced to Politically Exposed Persons(PEPs) in Nigeria.
A politically exposed Person is just a fancy phrase that in financial regulation simply means a politician that is holding a public office.
So in other words over $400 million USD worth of properties in Dubai have been traced to Nigerian politicians.
$400 million in today’s exchange rate is ₦640 billion. So simplified further what this The Guardian article is saying is that a certain category of Nigerians have invested ₦640 billion investing in Dubai real estate.
₦640 billion!!
Please note that they analyzed and talked about only Dubai properties. What about Singapore? What about the US? What about the UK and other international real estate markets?
Also note that they talked about only one category of Nigerians, the politicians. So what about the entrepreneurs? The business people? the founders of multi-nationals? What about other equally moneyed categories of Nigerians?
How much do these people have invested in the international real estate market?
If the politicians alone have done $640 billion in Dubai, how much have other categories done in Dubai and other place?
I ask this because contrary to popular opinions, news and media portrayals, there are a lot of rich people in Nigeria.
When I say rich I mean multi and mega millionaires in USD. Yes, the masses are struggling financially but those that have it, have it heavy.
I said this in case you are saying within yourself, ‘oh Ugochukwu, it is only the politicians. Only them have the money to throw around like that’.
Wrong!!
There are many Nigerians with a lotta of money. Forget the bullshit the media is telling you.
So once again I ask, if the political class alone, on their own have done ₦640 billions in real estate investments in Dubai alone, how much have other moneyed categories of Nigerians done not just in Dubai but across other international real estate markets?
It is safe to say that extremely wealthy Nigerians have trillions of Naira invested across different international real estate markets.
It is also safe to say that ₦10 trillion is a modest estimation of the money Nigerians have invested in international real estate markets.
With this said, the ₦10 trillion Naira question is,
Why Invest in Nigeria?
Why should you invest in Nigeria real estate when you have the finances and could invest instead in Dubai, Singapore, the US or the United kingdom?
Well to answer this question, permit me to tell you a story as first narrated and told in Acres of Diamonds, a wonderful book by Russell Herman Conwell.
There was a man named Al Hafed. Al Hafed was a wealthy farmer who owned a large farm in south central Asia.
He lived a very contented life, and could afford all the basic things in life that he wanted and more.
Life was good until an ancient Buddhist priest told him of the existence of diamonds, the world’s most valuable mineral.
The old priest told Ali Hafed that if he had one diamond the size of his thumb he could purchase the county, and if he had a mine of diamonds he could place his children upon thrones through the influence of their great wealth.
He became so obsessed with the idea of becoming incredibly wealthy by finding these precious gemstones that he sold his farm and traveled the world in search of them until he had spent all of his money.
Penniless and depressed and nowhere near any diamond, he finally drowned himself.
Meanwhile, back at Al Hafed’s property, the new owner whom sold the property to took his camel to a garden brook to give it a drink of water.
While the camel was drinking from the brook, he noticed a brightly-colored rock glinting in the water. He took it home with him, placed it on his fireplace mantel and forgot about it.
A few days later, the old Buddhist priest returned to the property. Seeing the colorful rock on the mantel, he recognized it as a large diamond in the rough.
Thus was discovered the diamond mine of Golconda, one of the most magnificent diamond mines in all the history of mankind.
Golconda diamonds are well-known today as the highest quality gemstones in the world. Many of the world’s most famous diamonds, including the Hope diamond, are believed to be from the Golconda mine.
“Had Ali Hafed remained at home and dug in his own cellar, or underneath his own wheat fields, or in his own garden, instead of wretchedness, starvation, and death by suicide in a strange land, he would have had ‘acres of diamonds. For every acre of that old farm, yes, every shovelful, afterward revealed gems which since have decorated the crowns of monarchs.”
There is no story that better captures and better answers the question I asked earlier than this story.
Many people don’t know the sheer potential and opportunities available to invest in Nigeria real estate market. They buy into mainstream and popular opinions. They believe the bullshit the media both foreign and local tell them. They move with the crowd.
Let me break it down for you.
Nigeria is a still developing economy, with a population that is growing faster than Usain Bolt can finish a 100m race. Currently the population is over 200 million people.
About 70% of this population are below 30 and 42% of this population are below 15 years. These are the new generation who are exposed to the global economy and finances through the internet.
Most of them aren’t looking for regular jobs because they know there is none, and the few available can’t pay them enough to feel on same level with their mates in developed economies, so how are they solving this problem? How are they making money?
They are looking for and leveraging opportunities on the internet. Making millions easily.
The housing deficit in Nigeria is over 30 million right now. 30 million homes are needed, in 2030 this will be over 50 million homes.
Are you seeing the opportunity or do I sill need to break it further? Fine I will.
Nigeria has a young population of 140 million below 30 years, most of whom due to the bad local economy are seeking and leveraging the power of the internet to make amounts of money in a day that would have taken a very successful businessman in the early 2000s 10 years to make and there is a housing deficit of over 30 million homes.
What does the mixture of a young population with money to spend and over 30 million housing deficit look like to you?
The young shall grow. Where do you think this young population with money to spend will live?
On the tree or in apartments and houses?
Where do you think these apartments and houses will be built?
On the air or on lands?
The housing demand in Nigeria is 30 million homes big and growing and there is a financially capable young population coming up and you still think investing in international real estate markets is the way to go?
International real estate markets that their economies have more or less peaked? The average return on investment (ROI) in Dubai properties varies between 6% and 10%, depending on factors like location, property type, and timing of investment.
Do you want to compare that to Lagos real estate market that soared by over 50% in 2023 alone? The figures for 2024 are yet to come in and I will share them with you when they do.
The average return on investment (ROI) for properties in the UK is 7% per annum, lands in Epe, yes, that Epe you have been hearing is appreciating by about 90% per annum.
Tell me how does 7% and 90% compare?
Do I really need to start mentioning all the cities in the world and start comparing them individually to Nigeria for you to see what am trying to show you?
The extra-ordinary ROI you are looking for in these international real estate markets is here in Nigeria.
The acres of diamonds you are looking for in international real estate markets is here in your backyard, here in Nigeria.
‘But Ugochukwu, the Naira is not stable, my investments in Naira won’t be profitable because of the fluctuations.’
Your investments in Naira will be profitable long term. You buy a property today and dollar is ₦1500, tomorrow dollar goes to ₦1700 and you start shouting that you are making losses on your investments? What do you think this is, crypto? NFTs?
This is real estate, not crypto, not bitcoin. Think long term. You can only make losses when you invest and liquidate short term.
Think long term, invest long term. No matter what dollar does today, long term the value of your property will catch up and earn you extraordinary returns.
‘But Ugochukwu how about the demolitions and all, I fear that my real estate investments are not safe’.
Do your due diligence before making any acquisition and you will never have any issues.
What else is holding you back from investing in Nigeria real estate?
Have you heard about The Trinity Church, New York?
Why am I talking about churches? What does churches have to do with real estate?
Well, it so happens that The Trinity Church is the biggest landlord in New York with a real estate holding that is over $6 billion.
How did a church amass a real estate portfolio worth over $6 billion?
They were gifted acres, and acres of New York farm land a long time ago by Queen Anne, They were gifted about 215 acres, only 14 acres of this is still owned by the church but that is enough to make them the wealthiest landlord in New York.
But when this land was given it just an empty farmland.
Today, these empty farmlands have developed and opened up and Trinity church is one of the wealthiest of New York city’s landlords.
The best time to amass property is when the location is still opening up because the land is cheap and common.
I started this article by telling you that Politically Exposed Persons in Nigeria have invested ₦640 billion in Dubai real estate. Let’s look closer at the figures.
If this ₦640 billion had been used to invest in Nigeria real estate, we would have had ₦320 billion value appreciation which is 50% of the money invested.
12,800 units of 3 bed fully detached homes would have been built at an average cost of ₦50 million per house and there will be a minimum ₦25.6 billion rental yield(easily higher) per annum from this investment.
Let me not even get into the tens of thousands of workers that would have been employed, tens of thousands of families and households that would have been fed and hundreds of billions that would have gone into local businesses supplying building materials.
Now to answer the big question: why invest in Nigeria?
With all this said and done, do you now see why you should invest in Nigeria real estate instead of exotic international real estate markets like Dubai, Singapore, the US or the United kingdom?
Even if you want the prestige of owning high end real estate properties, we have that in Nigeria. Nigeria real estate market got it all. Come let’s take you to Ikoyi, Let’s go to Banana Island. Let’s choose Shoreline estate. Maitama. Let’s go!
In the Acres of Diamonds story I told you earlier, the protagonist Al Hafed sold all he had, and left in search of diamonds when he had acres and acres of diamonds in his backyard. Why did he do this?
The answer is simple, he didn’t even know what a diamond is.
Think about it, Do you think that all the time he had had and lived on that property that he never came across a diamond?
There is no way he wouldn’t have come across at least one diamond all the time he has had that property when the man who bought the farm from him came across one within a short period of owning the property. There is no way.
So he has come across the diamonds in his backyard but he probably took them for weird looking stones or pebbles.
When the old priest told him about diamonds, he expected diamonds to be so blindingly shiny and beautiful that once you look at them you know that they are diamonds.
In his mind there is no way those weird looking stones and pebbles in his backyard are diamonds. Not knowing that those weird looking pebbles are actually diamonds in the rough.
That’s what we do for you here at Rose Garden Realty, we discover and help you mine diamonds in the rough of Nigeria real estate, and Also Answer why you should invest in Nigeria.
Click on the link below to send me a message, let’s help you build a real estate investment portfolio that will far outperform whatever you can get in the international markets.
I am Ugo.
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