Do you want to start your own real estate business in Nigeria? Let us guide you. Starting real estate business in Nigeria isn’t really difficult as real estate happens to be one of the easiest businesses to launch provided there’s sufficient capital.

Notwithstanding its associated ease of startup, real estate is associated with severe risks ranging from inevitable environmental hazards down to the confiscation of one’s landed properties.

Specifically, real estate business in Nigeria may be divided into three major facets namely real estate development, real estate agency and real estate legal consultancy.

While real estate development seems to be the most capital-intensive of the three facets, you should consider your strengths and weaknesses before specializing in any of them.

What is Real Estate?

Real estate is a property (consisting of land or buildings) or a huge collection of properties. Conventionally, we can say, real estate business is the coordinated act of buying, selling or renting a property, building, home or land. Real estate agents assist homeowners, businesses and investors buy and sell all four types of properties.

The real estate business can be divided into several other sections/ areas  like loan servicing, residential and commercial properties etc. Examples of residential real estate include undeveloped land, houses, condominiums, and townhouses; examples of commercial real estate are office buildings, warehouses, and retail store buildings; and examples of industrial real estate include factories, mines, and farms.

Real Estate in Nigeria

Real estate in Nigeria is ultimately a very serious and lucrative business. As a matter of fact, one of the longest-standing industry in Nigeria is the real estate industry. The industry has become a gold mine over the years, and many smart entrepreneurs have tapped into it and are making tons of profit.

From all indications, the  real estate industry have had their impact on the economy for so long and it has  continued in that trend , Nigerians are always in need of residential apartments, office building, and commercial outlets. They look to either buy or rent buildings and structures of their choice, and they sometimes need to consult real estate agent or expert before making their choices.

This basically explains why the real estate industry abounds with business opportunities and has been ranked as the 5th largest contributor to the GDP of Africa’s largest economy.

In this article, you’re certain to find out the 6 easy steps for starting your own real estate business in Nigeria.

1.Conducting a Relevant Market Survey

A relevant market survey herein is certainly a well-structured inquiry into how real estate is done in Nigeria. You may begin the inquiry with a brief survey on Nigeria’s real estate sector but later, you should narrow down your survey to the actual Nigerian city or cities that you intend to focus on.

Essentially, your market survey should involve the collection of genuine information about relevant regulations, startup capital, associated business risks and certain other factors that influence business operation.

2.Writing a Business Plan

The business plan writing for your real estate business should be given thorough consideration. Not only should the business plan state your business goals and the business mode of operation, it should also clarify the means for achieving the goals.

While the business plan may also help you attract the interest of investors, it’s advisable that you engage the service of a business consultant or expert for the crafting of a professional business plan.

3.Registering Your Business

Expectedly, you’ll have to consider two phases of registration for your real estate business in Nigeria. While the first phase involves registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), the second phase requires you to register the business with a relevant association.

On one hand, registering with CAC guarantees your real estate business a legal status and on the other hand, registering with a relevant association avails you the opportunity of securing benefits. Notably, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) constitutes the relevant associations you should register your real estate business with in Nigeria.

4.Obtaining a Bank Loan

If you can’t bear the startup cost of your real estate business, you’ll have to obtain financial aids (especially in form of loans) from any investors, friends, relatives and financial institutions.

You shouldn’t assume that securing an office space is the only thing you’ll need money for. Frankly, you’ll have to set funds aside for several underlying expenses which might include paying for the hiring of real estate scouts, engineers, surveyors, etc., particularly if you’ll be operating as a real estate developer.

In order to cover those underlying expenses, you may have to seek external financial assistance.

5.Securing an Office Space

An office space for your real estate business is basically where you intend to have conversations with established and potential clients. As such, you should make the space attractive enough with the appropriate equipment and items that speak well of your real estate business.

Obviously, there are Nigerian realtors with no physical business offices. But you shouldn’t consider this as a salient reason for bypassing the need for an office space. Plying real estate without an office space will likely portray you as a quack realtor.

6.Advertising Your Business: Leveraging on Online Presence

Both in Nigeria and other places of the world, real estate demands a generous amount of online presence which is often required for getting the business in front of potential clients both within and far away. What is implied here is that the Internet is a great tool that realtors can leverage on for creating far-reaching awareness for their real estate agencies.

Importantly however, advertising your Nigeria-based real estate agency should not be restricted to featuring the business in Google ad words or on popular blogs and websites. You should have a multifaceted advert plan incorporating TV ads, radio ads, newspaper ads and probably billboard ads.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you have found this article helpful concerning how to start real estate business in Nigeria. Advisably, consider all your strengths and weaknesses before eventually choosing any of the three major facets of real estate business in Nigeria.