Nigeria's top financial regulators, property developers, housing specialists, and corporate executives have issued a fresh and urgent demand for comprehensive reforms in the mortgage and housing sectors. They caution that the nation's broader economic growth goals will stay out of reach unless there is a major expansion in access to affordable housing finance.
A Gathering for Change: The Strategy Retreat
This critical call to action was the central theme of the Continental Civil General Construction Ltd and QShelter Strategy Retreat 2025. The event, held under the banner "Accelerating Access, Building Trust, and Democratising Homeownership in Nigeria and Beyond," served as a crucial platform. It assembled principal stakeholders from every link in the housing value chain to map out a sustainable future for mortgage growth, housing delivery, and economic inclusion.
The Core Challenges: Funding, Trust, and Inclusion
Dare Makinde, the Chief Commercial Officer of QShelter Limited, painted a stark picture of the current situation. He stated that Nigeria's mortgage penetration remains alarmingly low, a direct result of years of ineffective reforms, insufficient funding, and a deep-seated lack of public trust in housing delivery systems. He pointed out that the country is trailing behind regional peers like Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa in this critical area.
"For many years, mortgage reforms existed more in policy documents than in practical reality," Makinde observed. "But recent initiatives signal a positive shift. The government's attention is finally moving in the right direction, as shown by efforts like the Mortgage Refinance and Interest Fund (MRIF)."
He revealed a significant development: the MRIF currently has approximately N250 billion earmarked for mortgage lending. Of this substantial sum, over N65 billion has been disbursed in less than six months, a pace he described as unprecedented. According to his analysis, the primary barrier to mortgage access is now the availability of funds, not just the cost of borrowing.
Highlighting the scourge of failed and abandoned housing projects across the country, Makinde shifted the focus. "Interest rates are no longer the biggest obstacle," he explained. "We now have single-digit options: the National Housing Fund (NHF) at six percent, rent-to-own schemes at seven percent, and MRIF at 9.75 percent. The most significant issue today is trust."
To tackle housing affordability, he urged the government to consider subsidising essential building materials like cement and iron rods. He also advocated for strategic investment in land banking and a reduction in the equity contribution required from prospective homeowners.
Tapping into the Informal Economy
Alamu Adegbenga, the Chief Operating Officer of QShelter, emphasised another vital focus of the retreat: scaling up housing supply and intentionally bringing Nigeria's massive informal sector into the formal mortgage framework. He cited data indicating that over 65 percent of Nigerians earn their living in the informal economy.
"The informal sector represents Nigeria's largest untapped housing market," Adegbenga stated. "These individuals earn an income, but it is often irregular. Traditional mortgage products, designed for salaried workers, simply do not work for them. Our objective is to create innovative financing products that allow them to pay for a home over 10 to 20 years without crippling their daily working capital."
The consensus from the retreat is clear: unlocking Nigeria's economic potential is inextricably linked to solving the housing finance puzzle. The path forward requires building trust, deploying available funds effectively, and designing inclusive systems that serve the entire population.
