Housing Deficit: Soludo Reads Riot Act to Real Estate Companies

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka 

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has said that from January 2025 government would begin to sanction some real estate companies who are engaging in sales of land without developing houses to reduce the housing deficit in the state.
The governor stated this at an end-of-year event organised by Reapfold Properties, a real estate company in the state. 
 Soludo who was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Pauly Onyeka, said many of such companies would be delisted.
He said: “Soludo is working hard to limit housing deficit in Anambra State, and we are hoping that real estate companies will complement his efforts and not sabotage it.
 “The governor has serious love for people having their own houses. What is key is that there are many real estate companies in Anambra, but by January we will wield the big stick and we will inspect what people are doing in that sector. 
“We want them to be real estate developers and not just land sellers. Many people just set up companies and they sell land to people and walk away, without thinking of how that land can be developed.
“People just sell land without development, but we want people to focus on developing estates and this is the way we will develop the state. You are here as real estate developers to help government develop the state and not just to sell land.

“We have looked at the people in Reapfold Properties and they are without questionable character, but this is not the same with other real estate companies. 

“The governor is helping your business by creating roads to places where people would ordinarily not want to go to. He is creating roads there and this is making the real estate industry thrive, as the cost of land in such places shot up. 

“Today, if you buy land in Anambra, you are making huge investment, very soon Anambra will be the most developed state in the country, but we will not accept people just selling land, whereas our target is to have them developed.”

The Group Managing Director of Reapfold Properties, Nonso Smart Okafor, during his address at the event also mentioned that land purchase remains one of the most valuable ways of investing, adding that beyond its ability to appreciate in price, it is also a tangible asset.

He praised agents of the company for their dedication, while also announcing the launch of Awka School of Real Estate, which he said was to coach people on the business of real estate development.

The event featured the presentation of gifts to agents, including the ultimate prize of an SUV vehicle and an international holiday trip, which was won by Mr. Stanley Onunkwor, who was adjudged the most priced agent of the company.