The average cost of renting a 2-bedroom apartment in Lagos State has hit a new high of N900,000 yearly rent.
According to The Punch, property evaluation in 19 different areas of Lagos revealed a 2-bedroom apartment in the Ayobo area begins at N400,000 while places like Ikoyi saw an all-time high of N10m.
Median or Average market rent represents the mean rent, by unit type (types of flats) as determined in the annual survey of rents for a given period.
The survey was used to compare average rates in different parts of a geographical locale aimed to get a mid-point between the highest and lowest rental rates.
The result of the survey reveals a 30 per cent surge when compared to rates obtainable in 2019 before the economic aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The parts of Lagos covered in the analysis included: Ajah, Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki, Ikeja, Iyana-Ipaja, Yaba, Surulere, Oshodi, Ojuelegba, Ikorodu and Ayobo.
Others were: Gbagada, Abule-egba, Agege, FESTAC, Epe Badagry and Ikotun.
The prices were sourced from the popular proptech – propertypro.ng.
A real estate expert, Alfred Olayiwola, in an exclusive chat with newsmen, explaining the cause of the surge, said the cost of an average apartment in Lagos State was fast going beyond the reach of the average Lagos resident.
He said, “Given the current state of the economy, it is not affordable. That is why, recently, people are trying to move from high brow areas to these interior parts of the state because of rent. Income is not increasing, yet costs of rent keep going up. It’s really on the rent. Payment of rent is as a result of savings. if one is able to save, then you won’t have much pressure. Daily expense that is recurrent is getting higher and is taking more of people’s income. Recently, people are really finding it difficult to pay rent.
“Everything falls back on the economy. If things are being stabilised, if the prices of goods are not so high, if there is stability in the economy, then the issue of high rent will not be a thing in the first place.”
A Lagos-based realtor, Olamide Samuel, on the other hand, said the aggressive urban migration that had seen an influx of people come into Lagos had significantly increased the housing deficit in the state, hence the skyrocketing prices of rent.
According to him, regardless of the fact that the economy had been volatile over the past few years, the industry had continued to witness enormous investments due to its ROI prospective. As a result, the prices had become more competitive, he said.
He said the reality was beginning to create a dichotomy between the lower class and the proletarians who had to labour to match the competitive standards being set by the avalanche of investments in the real estate sector.
Olamide said, “The economy is bad, but the thing is that no matter the situation of the economy, people always want to invest in real estate. But the return on investment is guaranteed. The price of real estate always goes up. Right now, you find that a lot of people are investing a lot of money in property development in Lagos, and even outside Lagos in places like Mowe and the rest.
“Because of this, the price of real estate has gone up, because the demand is high. By the time a developer buys land for almost double of what he bought two years ago, the implication is that when he finishes building the house, the rent will be very high.
