5 hours Ago By Gbenga Oloniniran
The Managing Director, Leadway Asset Management, David Alao, on Thursday, reiterated that 25 per cent of the retirement savings account can be used to buy real estate. This was as he urged stakeholders to build trust within the real estate industry to enable the public to have confidence in their operations. These views were shared during the Heads of Practice Assembly 2025, an event organised by the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers with the theme ‘Thriving in a VUCA Environment.
’ The event had the subthemes ‘Firms Collaboration for Effective Profitability’ and ‘Firm Structure and Growth Pattern’ and was held at Radisson Blu, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos. In his keynote address, Alao urged stakeholders in the real estate sector to act as a bridge between sellers and buyers and position themselves as trusted allies in an industry where misinformation spreads and misleads the public. He said, “We need to understand what is going on.
We need to be at the table at the discussion. There are more opportunities. What role is the industry playing? I want to say you guys missed a great opportunity with the pension funds.
“I’m sure you guys are aware that there’s a provision in the pension fund law that says you can use 25 per cent of your RSA to buy real estate. Guess what people are doing? What I’ve heard people do, which was told to me by one of our AGs in the pension business. He said people are collecting the money, and they’re not buying a house.
“So, this is where you guys can stand as a fiduciary to say who ensures that this is done in that. If I say I’m collecting money to buy a house and there’s a provision that says that every year that house must be valued, if by year one there’s no house, year two there’s no house to value, then somebody should be asking the individual that collected the money, Where is the money? But we’re not seeing that. “My question is, if I come and say this property is N100m, who ensures on the side of the buyer that the value of the property is actually N100m? That’s not being provisioned for.
And I think that somebody who acts on the side of the buyer is an essential thing. It’s a seat at the table. It’s something that we need to fix.
” Related News IG seeks pension reforms for retired police officers FG releases N22bn for retirees accrued pension rights Retirees deserve their accrued benefits Alao stressed further the need to counter misinformation in the real estate industry, noting that some elements on social media deliberately put out content to devalue properties at some locations by making false comparisons. He added, “It creates distrust. Not only does it create distrust, but it tarnishes this esteemed institution because you guys are supposed to be the gatekeepers of trust in real estate.
And that doesn’t happen today. “So, for example, I’m asking the question, what are the young people in your businesses doing? Why can’t they pick up their own cameras, set up their ring light, and speak about these issues? That is how you capture the Gen Zs. Because there is a voice of truth and there is a voice of misinformation.
“And the people just don’t know the difference. But guess what? If we have people who are also standing with the voice of truth, then relevance comes. And then the day when a young person is trying to buy the house, they know to contact your industry.
” On his part, the chairman of the occasion, Bode Adediji, urged participants to reflect on their contributions to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. He said, “If you work in an environment where GDP is $256bn, you ask yourself, what is your contribution? Because GDP is not fake. When we were being taught in university, it included the activities of those who sell tomatoes, the dry cleaners, and everybody.
We are a contributor.” Harping on VUCA, which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity in the modern business world, Adediji continued, “What are the key things we should actually try to take? They are as follows: When we see VUCA, what are the things that are very paramount that we can focus on either as a shield, a defence, or even a launchpad? “For me, these are as follows: We must struggle to de-plasmatize our operation. We must struggle to look at those things that are available in some other countries but are not present here now.
For example, a franchise.” He explained that people are interested in buying from brands, and stakeholders could tap into this. The event also featured a panel discussion and presentation by HOMZ.
ng, which harped on how investors can monitor their rental properties. Earlier, the NIESV President, Victor Alonge, gave a goodwill message, urging the participants to maximise the opportunity that the programme offered in order to promote the growth of the NIESV..
