Urban housing affordability and housing policy dilemmas in Nigeria

Abstract

Given the increasing importance of affordability in housing policy reform debates, this study develops a new composite approach to measuring housing affordability and employs it to examine the nature of urban housing affordability in Nigeria. The data used in this study are based on the Nigerian Living Standards Survey 2003-2004. The aggregate housing affordability model developed here measures housing affordability problems more accurately and classifies the housing affordability status of households more appropriately than the conventional affordability models. Findings show very high levels of housing affordability problems in Nigeria with about 3 out of every 5 urban households experiencing such difficulties. There are also significant housing affordability differences between socio-economic groups, housing tenure groups and states in Nigeria. The current national housing policy that de-emphasises government involvement in housing provision does not allow the country’s full potential for tackling its serious affordability problems to be realised and, hence, the laudable ‘housing for all’ goal of the policy has remained elusive. Nigerian socio-economic realities demand far more vigorous government involvement in housing development, working with a more committed private sector, energised civil societies and empowered communities to tackle the enormous housing problems of the country