The MD/CEO of Leading Real Estate Company, Afriland Properties Plc, Uzo Oshogwe has stated that real estate companies must diversify their offerings to remain relevant and in business in the current business clime.
Speaking at a stakeholder forum held in Lagos, the Real Estate chief executive stressed the need for Real Estate companies to adopt diverse development types and to roll out products in line with the need of existing target markets to stay in business.
She noted that there were so many opportunities abound in the market and that economic factors, as well as the changing needs of clients, warranted that Realtors needed to be flexible in their operations. She stated further “developers must take a step back, work the number to determine what works and what doesn’t. If due to the impact of the pandemic, office development is not as buoyant, then reduce the square meterage that you put out in the market and see what residential and other development types have to offer. You must study your market. Currently, smaller units such as studio apartments; one- and two-bedroom apartments are selling out.”
The Afriland Chief Executive Officer leveraged the opportunity to speak on her company’s plans for the future. “We have a fine mix of developments coming up, ranging from commercial buildings, residential buildings and lifestyle developments. We are delving into medical real estate as well as boutique shopping malls.” She continued, “We have just commissioned a block of residential apartments in Parkview, Ikoyi and are about to start our development for young professionals which consists of one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in Ikeja. Our most ambitious is a Residential Estate coming up in Abuja which makes up majority of our residential offerings”
Throwing more light on Afriland Properties’ plans, Mrs Oshogwe stated that the organization was equally looking at retail real estate as an important part of its activities. She said, “We have built a block of lock-up shops in Egbeda in mainland Lagos. Following the success of the Egbeda shops, we will be kicking off another similar development in Abule Egba, also in Mainland Lagos. Our reach has extended to Port-Harcourt where we intend to construct a shopping mall cum office complex. The variety of projects lined up drives our conviction that we will pull through the current lull in the industry mainly through our portfolio diversification strategy.”