Confirming this to LEADERSHIP, REDAN auditor, and managing director of Roccio Carrillo, Mr. Emmanuel Oyelowo hinted that, the financing gap occasioned by the cash crunch policy had created wide margins and devastating effects to the real estate market, adding that, moratorium had been given to developers with construction loans.
He argued that the loans taken by developers for the purpose of construction finance to address housing deficit were already yielding high interest on the loans such that the multiplying effects would affect local investors in ways that they won’t be able to recoup back their capital investment by milestones.
“Real estate activities are done with a large chunk of money. A lot of the participants in the sector deal in cash. The effect on potential investors and buyers of real estate products is that it affects sales and letting of real estate. Sellers have to evolve new methods of selling properties,” he added.
As a capital intensive sector and a major store of wealth and value, some market analysts had expected that the sector would provide a haven for investors with the old naira notes which the CBN is recalling from those who have them stashed in their houses. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kayode Adeluola, also stated at a real estate forum in Lagos, that, the Act is aimed to ensure that illicit funds are not allowed to get into the financial systems or into the economy as it does not encourage criminals to continue to perpetuate their crimes wherever they may be.