Nigeria Unveils First House Price Index

• Nigeria Unveils First House Price Index

The Nigeria’s real estate and business giants have come together to pioneer the nation’s first house price index.

The team led by Roland Igbinoba Real Foundation for Housing and Urban Development said the House Price Index would measure changes in single-family home prices across the country and also reflect areas where values are increasing or decreasing.

Mr. Roland Igbinoba, the Founder of Roland Igbinoba Real Foundation for Housing and Urban Development said, “The approach adopted in calculating the housing Index is that of the Laspeyres Index. A Laspeyres house price index calculates the weighted average change in prices over a period for fixed types of houses drawn from some base period.

“It compares the total cost of purchasing a specific type of house in the base period with the total cost of purchasing the same type in other periods. An index of these costs is then constructed, taking the quantity of each house listed for sale in the base period as weight.”

He further stated that the index will quantify both the relative costs of production and the relative utilities to purchasers as it measures changes in single-family home prices across Lagos and Abuja for a start.

According to him, the Roland Igbinoba House Price Index will help home buyers access prices and run a comparison, which includes where values are rising or falling. Therefore, providing vital information to intending buyers to make an informed decision.

The RI index is expected to help both the home owners and investors have a more realistic housing cost in an industry with little to no data.