Nine developments in the history of developed and developing countries have been associated with the abundance of natural resources or lack of it, and the inherent capacity to harness mineral resources into efficient energy for industrialization. Today, the setting of world’s economy as opposed to the traditional business era marked with heavy reliance on fossil fuel based energy have continued to evolve in the face of rising digital economy. As technological innovation in energy utilization and environmental conservation keep advancing with time and move towards meeting sustainability objectives, the paradigm of global business practices have shifted in response to changing needs.
In recent time countries whose economic prosperity hitherto depended on mineral resources such as petroleum products have remained embattled with decisions as how to effectively diversify their economy to non-oil based alternatives. There have been a dire need to consider the income generating potential of other natural resources such as pure landed investment which shows the prospect for high economic and environmental sustainability. Real estate development as a crucial part of land investment have increasingly become a matter of interest in policy discourse touching economic diversification. In contrast to the exhaustible nature of mineral resource investment, real estate investment is durable and appreciates in value over time thus making it a goldmine.
The ability of real estate investment to serve as a hedge against inflation makes it unique among alternative investment class. Non-oil producing countries such as the United Kingdom and United States of America have capitalised on real estate services in boosting their economy. The value contribution of real estate services to the gross domestic product (GDP) of these developed countries have soared progressively in the tunes of billons annually. Investing heavily in residential and commercial real estate by way of increased housing and non-housing service delivery have significantly bolstered the growth of their local economy through property-based tax and business tourism.
Developing countries such as Nigeria that is endowed with large expense of land is yet to fully maximise its productive potential. As an oil rich nation, Nigeria’s economy is skewed towards mineral resource exploration and owing to this, investment have been lopsided. In order to achieve an impressive economic performance like their counterparts in developed world, it is imperative to consider making serious investment in the real estate industry. Nigeria through the revenue realized from the sales of petroleum product in the global oil market can commit tangible capital resources into commercial real estate services which guarantees profitable returns through its inflation hedging qualities.
The government can bring a situation changing solution to the present state of the economy by consulting qualified professionals in real estate management such as the Estate Surveyors and Valuers to offer sound judgment on the property investment with good economic viability. The inputs of these experts as feasibility and viability analyst is useful in deciding what class of direct or indirect real estate investment is best to invest in. Additionally, government ministries like the ministry of housing and land development should synergize with professional bodies like the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) to ensure capacity building of state and federal government employees entrusted with actions in land investment.