Nigeria Approves 10% Funding For N5m NHF Loans

The federal government has approved that National Housing Fund (NHF) loans of N5 million and below would attract 10% funding just as loan applicants would no longer make down payments of 10% of the house price.

Mr Richard Esin, the acting managing director of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), stated this at the commissioning of 252-unit FMBN/Lape housing Estate, Karu, developed by Lape Construction Services Limited under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with Platinum Mortgage Bank Nigeria Limited.

Sitting on a two hectare land, the site is divided into two phases comprising of 295 units of 2 bedroom semi-detached bungalows already commissioned in the first phase as well as 34 units of 2 bedroom and 94 units of 3 bedroom detached units in this second phase.

He was emphatic that the cost of mortgage perfection that added  another 10 percent to the upfront costs would be capitalized and repaid gradually over five years adding that the concession reduced upfront home ownership cost by at least 20 percent.

On his part, the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Shehuri noted that the 252-unit housing estate was in response to the promise of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to tackle the 16-17 million housing deficit.

Indeed, the ministry’s plan to build mass housing units in every state of the federation for public workers over the next three years, under a public private partnership arrangement has reached an advanced stage in terms of implementation.

Shehuri said  that National housing models have been designed and approved for each geopolitical zones considering their socio- cultural and climatic diversities while emphasising on standards and use of local building materials.

This he believed would translate to affordability of housing for Nigerians just as it would also create employment opportunities for the unemployed youths.

He commended the efforts of FMBN in stepping up to the challenge of housing deficit by participating in the supply, as well as the demand sides of housing finance stressing that the present administration is committed towards supporting the ideals of the National housing programme.
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