Prices of residential apartments in the highbrow areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) like Maitama, Asokoro, and Wuse, have reportedly surged due to high demand lawmakers.
OsunDailyNG gathered that with over 400 National Assembly members and about 500 support staff, prices of residential apartments are bound to automatically jack up.
Earlier, this platform reported that the Federal Government might be paying about N23.48 billion for housing allowances for members of the National Assembly for their four-year tenure.
While it was learnt that the housing allowances of the 107 Senators excluding the Senate President and Deputy Senate President which was not disclosed will cost about N1.38 billion yearly, housing cost for 356 members of the House of Representatives will cost N4.49 billion yearly.
According to The Punch, real estate firms in these highbrow areas have increased prices for residential apartments by at least 60 % owing to the high demand for houses by newly inaugurated members of the national assembly
Confirming the development, a member of staff of a real estate firm, who pleaded anonymity told The Punch that it was natural for prices of homes to increase with over 900 persons looking for residential apartments at the same time.
The staff member said, “Yes it has, we have over 400 NASS members with over 500 support staff looking for housing accommodation at the same time so automatically the force of demand and supply has come into play so the cost of housing has jacked up.”
Giving more details to the issue, a real estate agent identified as Bimbo said apart from the fact the demand for houses is high, the removal of the fuel subsidy has also caused a hike in the prices of houses.
Bimbo revealed that due to the high demand, some legislators have opted for short-let apartments pending the time they can buy their preferred residence outrightly.
The agent said, “Prices of houses in posh areas have increased drastically. Houses available for rent now go for N6m from N3m before the inauguration, other smaller places for their aides that were around N800,000 now sell for almost N1.4 million. Most of the senators prefer to buy than rent and this is even more expensive, a house in those posh will cost not less than N150 million.
“Also, it is not solely because of the arrival of new senators but due to current economic realities caused by the removal of fuel subsidy. Even with this number, there are still empty houses that are not occupied and the owners will instead leave them to waste than sell them for a lesser amount.
“I have also noticed that some senators prefer to stay in short lets apartments for the meantime before getting their apartments. For instance, I know someone that paid to stay in an apartment for N1m per month.”
