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Lekki, Victoria Island flood will surely bring down rent and prices of property- Estate agents forecast

Estate agents and developers Encomium Weekly spoke with have described the degree of flood confronting Lekki residents and those living in some parts of Victoria Island (Lagos) at the moment as the worst so far. The unfortunate occurence, they said, will not only bring down rent but have adverse effects on prices of property in the vicinity as more and more people are now relocating to the Mainland for safety.

According to Obi Uzor of Obi & Co Properties, Ogba, Lagos, the incident will surely worsen property business in the area, especially for property owners as buyers are now scared of acquiring houses in the area for fear of the unknown in the future on account of the recent flooding which has destroyed many structures.

“The flood in Victoria Island and Lekki axis is a regrettable incident. It has destroyed a lot of property in the area, especially Lekki. And it hasn’t stopped, and I doubt it if it will stop in the next three or for months because the more it rains, the worse the situation there. That’s why many are now moving to the Mainland. Despite paying high rent, they are no longer getting the comfort they bargained for. Water has destroyed many other valuable items apart from houses. Many couldnt come out for days because of the fear of being swept away by erosion. That zone is terrible at the moment. And those regretting heavily now are the landlords because rent has to come down ridiculously. No one will be interested in living in that place any more after the bitter experience. Even, people wanted to buy property in Lekki have started changing their minds. At the end of it all, prices of property will also be forced down. As I speak, people are still afraid of investing in property in the vicinity. Even, those who have already are contemplating selling theirs off at cheaper rates, but it’s still very risky to buy such property because most of the places are water lodged and they were sandfilled during construction. And some didn’t even give regard to drainage at all. That’s exactly what worsened the situation. And no matter how much we reclaim land from water, nature will surely bounce back one day. That’s exactly what’s happening in those areas now, and it’s very unfortunate.”

Corroborating the earlier submission, Babajide Martins of JM  Property Investment said, “What the Lekki people generally are going through at the moment is terrible. The flood has been disturbing them for about two weeks, and only God knows when it will stop. One of my clients there has resolved to selling his house in Lekki Phase 1 at a very cheap price. He said the flood can be worse next year if the rainfall increases. And that there’s likelihood of the houses in that vicinity sinking. So, that’s exactly what’s going on now in that area. Some landlords are panicking already. Nobody expected that the situation could be that terrible this year. Even, people are relocating now, leaving some apartments vacant. Rent will soon go down as many people are vacating the place. People were trapped inside their apartments for days starving, no light, no water to drink. To me, I can’t advice anybody to move to Lekki now until dry season because anything can still happen. I know of a Senator that lives in Lekki Phase 1, he came back from Abuja on Saturday, July 8, 2017, to attend an event in Lagos. He abandoned his Lekki mansion for the GRA, Ikeja house. And till he went back to Abuja, he didn’t step into Lekki. So, you can know how worse the situation is.

“Also, those living in Victoria Island are not safe. Most of them now prefer coming to the Mainland. And very soon, prices of some property will be coming down while some may still remain high as they’re now. The people in this area are also in palpable fear now because if the rain continues for about three months, it will be very disastrous living in that area. I think the main cause of this year’s flooding is the land reclamation going on at the Bar beach and other parts of the vicinity. And no matter how well planned a settlement is after sand filling, the water will find its way back. That’s why every little rainfall is usually accompanied by flood. If care is not taking, most of the property owners there will sell off their property.”

  • TADE ASIFAT
Encomium

Written by Encomium

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