Lagos requires about N6 trillion annually to bridge its housing capital gap, as the state’s housing deficit has risen to 3.4 million units, according to findings presented at a housing and capital forum organised by GTI Investment Group on Thursday, August 20, 2026.
Prof. Timothy G. Nubi, Founding Director, University of Lagos Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development, disclosed this in a keynote presentation titled “Housing, Capital and the Future of Lagos” at the forum themed “Beyond Rent: A Lagos Housing and Capital Forum.”
The forum brought together stakeholders from government, housing, real estate, investment and economics to examine how capital could be mobilised to address Lagos’ housing and affordability challenges.
Speakers at the event included the Group Managing Director, GTI Investment Group, Mr. Abubakar Lawal; Group Executive Officer, Mr. Olusegun Olawuyi; Finance Director, Mr. Boye Adegbemi; and Group Head of Research, Mr. Abiodun Ogunniyi.
The panelists were Engr. Abdulhafis Gbolahan Toriola, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Housing; Dr. Bola Adigun, West Africa Economics Leader & Partner, Strategy & Transactions, at Deloitte; Mr. Tolu Bawa-Allah, Managing Director, Prindex Properties; and Kehinde Hassan, Managing Director, GTI Capital.
Prof. Nubi said Lagos’ housing deficit increased from 2.95 million units in 2016 to 3.4 million units in 2025, representing a 15% increase over nine years, which confirms Nairametrics report.
The professor argued that the scale of the challenge means government cannot build its way out of the housing crisis alone, stressing the need for private developers, mortgage finance, institutional investors and capital-market funding.
Presenting “Beyond Rent: Mapping Lagos’ Housing-Led Capital Expansion,” Ogunniyi framed the housing crisis as more than a shortage of homes, describing it as a capital allocation, affordability, and infrastructure-pricing problem.
Similarly, a worker earning N500,000 monthly could still spend 40% to 60% of income on rent in locations such as Yaba and Surulere.
Ogunniyi said the mismatch between rent and wages had transformed Lagos’ housing challenge into a broader capital-market and financial-inclusion problem.
The research report by GTI Investment Group, which was launched at the event, also examined the affordability of home ownership using a 9.75% mortgage rate, 20-year tenor and 10% equity contribution under the MREIF framework.
This, Ogunniyi said, means Nigeria’s housing problem is also a financing-exclusion problem. The presentation also called for greater use of capital-market instruments to finance housing, including Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), bonds, asset-backed securities, crowdfunding and mortgage innovations.
Responding to issues raised by participants, Toriola said the Lagos State Government is creating the enabling environment for housing development and other economic engagements, pointing out that the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) was established to regulate the sector and provide an avenue for resolving disputes involving developers and other stakeholders.
The Permanent Secretary further disclosed that developers face significant cost implications when construction is delayed because building-material prices remain dynamic.
Experts have increasingly called for greater institutional financing, including pension funds, REITs and mortgage-backed instruments, to channel long-term capital into housing development and expand supply.
According to Prof. Nubi, the government had invested not less than N8 billion in its approval platform to make the process more seamless. However, the effectiveness of these reforms would depend partly on public awareness.
