The housing sector in the South-East is on the path to recovery, buoyed by improving security, growing diaspora remittances and fresh intervention by state governments to revitalise construction and infrastructure. To breathe new life into the region’s long-stalled real estate market, experts are seeking structural reforms to attract investors and expand affordability, CHINEDUM UWAEGBULAM reports.

After years of slowdown triggered by insecurity and economic uncertainty, South-East’s housing market is showing early signs of revival. Developers and real estate agents in cities such as Enugu, Owerri, Umuahia, and Awka report that improved security and new infrastructure projects are beginning to restore investors’ confidence in the region.

The return of weekday commerce in previously volatile areas, combined with road rehabilitation and increased police presence, has helped alleviate fears of violence. Real estate professionals are seeing increased demand for gated communities, student housing, and serviced plots, especially in low-risk neighbourhoods.

According to developers, Nigerians in the diaspora are leading the way, often sending funds through trusted family or community networks. Real estate agents and developers report a surge in enquiries and off-plan commitments from the Igbo diaspora, particularly in the UK, U.S., South Africa, and Canada.

These investors, many of whom halted projects years ago, are now seeking to build ancestral homes, gated estates, and student hostels, leveraging family networks and professional contacts. Yet analysts warned that unresolved land documentation processes and the absence of structured diaspora investment policies could limit growth.

With high inflation, weak mortgage options, and challenges with land documentation persisting, experts are urging governments in the region to create enabling environments, including real estate data banks and construction incentives.

Be that as it may, to support the sector’s rebound, most South-East states have rolled out targeted housing projects and aggressive urban road programmes.

In Enugu, for instance, the government flagged off the rehabilitation of 141 urban roads across 13 zones with a N183 billion allocation. Works are concentrated in Abakpa, New Haven, and Coal Camp, areas that are expected to witness land price increase and rent resilience within 300–800 metres of these corridors, as well as shortened travel times.

The state is complementing its road programme with a broader urban renewal push that features housing clusters, mass transit hubs, and slum upgrade schemes, reinforcing momentum in the region’s property market.

Alongside efforts to regularise land titles and reduce bottlenecks at the Ministry of Lands to encourage formal investment, Abia State has also launched urban renewal projects in Aba and Umuahia.

The state is also exploring wider budgetary support for housing, with governors across the region pledging to provide land and infrastructure for developers committed to delivering affordable housing.

In Imo, arterial road reconstruction, including the Owerri–Umuahia segment, has enhanced connectivity to Owerri’s commercial districts, boosting peripheral residential values where drainage and lighting have been integrated. The state is also advancing public-private partnerships (PPPs) for new estates and resettlement schemes targeting civil servants and displaced communities.

However, despite growing optimism in the South-East housing market, several deep-rooted challenges continue to threaten the sector’s momentum. Chief among them is the persistent problem of title insecurity, which makes investors cautious. Land disputes, overlapping claims, and opaque registry systems often derail transactions, delay projects, and erode trust in the market.

For developers hoping to attract diaspora investors, the lack of transparent and reliable land administration remains a significant red flag. Without reforms in land titling and digitisation of registries, the pace of recovery could be slowed.

Equally concerning is the high cost of construction, driven by rising inflation and the volatility of the foreign exchange market. Developers report that materials such as cement, iron rods, roofing sheets, and finishing products have seen price hikes of 40–60 per cent in the past two years, while labour costs continue to climb. These factors are pushing property prices out of reach for many middle-class buyers and forcing developers to downscale projects or extend delivery timelines. In some cases, projects have stalled altogether, leaving partially completed estates scattered across the region.

The challenge is compounded by limited access to mortgage finance for potential homeowners. With mortgage rates still hovering above 20 per cent, many first-time buyers and lower-income families remain excluded from the formal housing market. This limits demand, even as developers strive to increase supply. Furthermore, while security has improved in major cities, rural and peri-urban areas still experience sporadic unrest, discouraging large-scale investments. Until these issues are addressed through policy reforms, innovative financing models, and sustained security measures, the sector’s recovery will remain fragile and uneven.

Real estate professionals have warned that the South-East’s fragile property revival may not be sustained without structural reforms to attract investors and expand affordability. With housing demand rising across Enugu, Aba, Owerri, Awka, and Abakaliki, experts insist that the region needs coordinated policies that go beyond isolated projects and address systemic weaknesses in the sector.

A major priority, they argue, is the creation of structured diaspora investment frameworks at the state level. Given that much of the capital flowing into housing comes from Nigerians abroad, stakeholders believe clear legal and financial pathways are needed to guarantee land security, streamline documentation, and ensure ease of repatriating returns. Alongside this, they are advocating for the establishment of real estate data platforms to enhance transparency, mitigate speculation, and inform both public and private planning.

Industry players also highlight the urgent need for state-supported housing finance schemes. With mortgage rates still out of reach for most Nigerians, developers say that innovative financing, such as cooperative-backed mortgages, state-guaranteed funds, and targeted subsidies for first-time buyers, would significantly improve affordability and widen access to homeownership. They argue that without financial instruments tailored to the region’s realities, housing projects will remain concentrated among the wealthy and the diaspora elite.

Experts are calling for a regional real estate summit that would bring together state governments, private developers, financial institutions, and representatives from the diaspora. Such a forum, they said, would help harmonise housing policies across the five South-East states, reduce duplication of efforts and align public-private sector goals.

For Chairman of the Abia State chapter of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Uche Ikoro, the South-East real estate market, once stifled by insecurity and political unrest, is gradually recovering on the back of renewed investor confidence and government initiatives.

Ikoro told The Guardian that the region had been weighed down by apathy for years, with farmer-herder clashes, kidnappings, and separatist agitations casting a shadow over business prospects.

“Until recently, it was not worthwhile thinking of serious investments in the region, including in the real estate sector. That was the picture until the most recent times, but the last elections appear to have thrown up more administrators bent on reversing these trends,” she explained.

According to her, state governments are now making tangible investments to provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. These include infrastructure renewal, improved transparency in governance, and even direct participation in the real estate sector.

“In essence, there is a renewed hope in the future of the real estate sector,” she said. Ikoro noted that security remains central to attracting investors. The more concerted fight to restore safety in the region has triggered a rise in housing demand, prompting governments to channel funds into real estate-related projects. This, in turn, is fueling higher land values and increased property development.

She highlighted recent events, such as the Nigerian Bar Association Conference in Enugu, and the builders’ gathering in Abakaliki, as platforms that allowed investors to assess the progress made in infrastructure.

The recently completed Abakaliki Airport is gradually coming into use, while the proposed Abia Airport is expected to be fully functional by 2027. Road upgrades have also cut travel time between Imo Airport and Umuahia to just 30 minutes.

“These improvements are replicated in other cities, with cleaner environments and government-led land acquisition for new cities or suburbs. Landowners are also cooperating by releasing land to take advantage of rising demand in a win-win situation,” she added.

For the recovery to deepen, Ikoro urged reforms to the Land Use Act to make land titling more flexible. She also stressed the importance of affordable mortgage financing. “Single-digit mortgage rates are needed. Double-digit interest rates from commercial banks discourage homeownership, forcing buyers to rely on personal savings and prolonging the gestation of projects. Sentimental attachment to land is another hurdle, as many do not realize they are sitting on dead capital incapable of being used for anything,” she said.

Similarly, the Chairman of the NIESV Anambra State branch, Mr Raji Adewale, confirmed that cautious optimism is returning to the market, just as he emphasised that demand is gradually picking up in prime urban centres such as Awka, Onitsha, Enugu, Aba, and Owerri.

Land prices have stabilised, and in some well-located areas, values are rising again. Developers, he noted, are remobilising small-to-medium-sized projects that had previously stalled.

To sustain the momentum, Adewale urged governments to digitise and streamline land administration. He proposed the rollout of a search-to-Certificate of Occupancy e-workflow with statutory timelines of 30 to 45 days, alongside transparent fee schedules.

Expanding Geographic Information System (GIS) parcel mapping and publishing cadastral data, he explained, would also expedite property transactions by giving lenders greater confidence.

He further suggested the creation of state-backed construction financing windows, including short-term working capital lines for vetted projects that meet housing and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards.

Repayment, he explained, could be structured through escrowed presales. Adewale, who also emphasised the potential of diaspora capital, recommended the establishment of diaspora-only project notes or mini-REITs targeted at strategic corridors such as airports and industrial hubs, with FX-convertible exit options and trustee governance to attract offshore Nigerians. This, he said, could build on federal efforts to formalise remittance channels.

In addition, he advised on the bulk procurement of building materials, such as cement and rebar, through accredited housing cooperatives and small-to-medium-sized developers. Promoting local alternatives such as stabilised earth blocks, with proper standards and training, could also reduce construction costs.

To ease regulatory bottlenecks, Adewale advocated for a one-stop-shop approval process that brings together planning, fire, environmental, and tax agencies.

“Approvals should have guaranteed timelines and adopt a ‘deemed approval unless queried’ framework once deadlines lapse. This would reduce carrying costs for developers and boost supply,” he said. (The Guardian)