Rullion's Blog

Esther Macully used all of her 1.52m frame to face down a bulldozer and save her freezer from being destroyed, as a wrecking crew guarded by armed security forces razed her home in Badia East slum of Lagos. While she salvaged the cooler, she is still waiting for the Lagos State government to fulfill a pledge to help replace the home she used as a store to sell beverages and food. A general view of houses built in Makoko slums in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria, October 10th, 2009 The wooden shack was flattened last February, along with the dwellings of thousands of others that authorities said were moved for a housing project that is yet to get off the ground. “We can’t be living in this kind of condition forever”, Macully said as she prepared to move back home about 160km east of Lagos. “We’re citizens of Nigeria. Let them have mercy on us.” The demolition is making way for more than 1,000 one-to two-bedroom apartments that will be beyond the means of Nigerians like Macully. La...

An expert in the property market has described the real estate market as an investors’ haven, adding that the industry holds great potential for operators in the country. Speaking on the theme: ‘Growing a diversified group of businesses’ at the Fidelity SME Forum, a weekly radio programme being packaged by Fidelity Bank Plc, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Group of Companies, Chief Nnaeto Orazulike, said the property business was one area where investors could expect to recoup their investment within a short period of time because of the high return on investment. He advised Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs desirous of growing their businesses to make conscious efforts to tap into the huge property market in the country even as they ploughed back the excess funds into their businesses. “Naturally, as you grow your business and develop it, the best thing to do with the excess, which the business doesn’t absorb is to invest it in real estate,” h...

Luxury homes sales volumes in key international property hotspots surged in 2013, while median sales prices remained relatively constant, according to a new report by Christie’s International Real Estate and Strutt & Parker. According to Propertywire.com , the report focuses on three markets which are experiencing exceptional growth London, Miami and New York, and shows that the number of luxury properties sold, that is those priced over $1m, increased dramatically, surpassing 2012 levels. Overall median sales prices leveled out, despite asking prices for some properties reaching historic highs and buyers were a combination of local residents, overseas investors and a growing number of young millionaires. It points out that the increased demand from wealthy potential buyers looking to invest in real estate is fuelling this renewed housing boom. Overseas buyers had a significant presence in all three luxury markets. In London, Strutt & Parker reported that...