The minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, had urged the public not to embark on panic buying and storage of the product as the current market price was temporary.He said that discussion between the government and cement manufacturers was being ramped up in order to meet the increased demand of the commodity.Nonetheless, the retail price of cement in Abuja and its environs is currently at over N5, 000.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP, the project manager, Amore Homes, Mu’Azu Umar, said that it will be difficult to provide affordable houses for Nigerians in the sense that the cost of living, and not just the cost of building materials, is high. So all these put together are worrisome.” “So as a developer, after building a house, you put the house up for sale and you expect to get profit, not loss,” he said.
“Invariably, building materials form the main factors that restrict the supply of housing. Having said that, it has been observed that one main barrier to the realisation of effective housing in Nigeria, as revealed in successive government efforts, has been the cost of housing in the country,” he added.
Mr Kunle Adeniyi, a dealer in iron rods and other building materials, blamed the ugly trend on the manufacturers who had decided to create artificial scarcity.
Source: Real Estate Daily Report (realestatedailyreport.net)