Monthly Newsletter - Issue 1, 2016

NEWS ROUNDUP

Ghana: Govt Urged to Create Stable Economic Environment - Stanbic Bank
The Head of Real Estate Finance West Africa, Stanbic IBTC, Niyi Adeleye has called on African governments to increase investment in social housing policies to enable citizens with low income levels afford to secure their own residential apartments in the midst of rising cost in the mortgage sector.

One of Africa's Largest Shopping Mall opens its doors
Just after completing its ambitious R2.5 -billion redevelopment which positions it as one of the largest mall in Africa, Menlyn Park Shopping Centre in Pretoria South Africa, is now home to over 500 stores and restaurants.

The rise of Mauritius: Africa's fastest growing wealth market
Mauritius is the fastest growing wealth market in Africa and one of the five fastest growing wealth markets worldwide. This was revealed in the New World Wealth report on the country.
 
Naspers Strengthens Online Presence in South African Real Estate Market
Africa’s largest company, media giant Naspers, is strengthening its online presence in the real estate market by buying a rival site — a move that will consolidate the South African online real estate search market.

Africa's Infrastructure Spending Drops — Deloitte
Africa's infrastructure investment spending decreased in 2016 compared 2015, according to Deloitte 2016 African construction trends report.

Investors sidestep African real estate
Johannesburg - Real estate capital flows are moving increasingly to eastern and southern Europe as opposed to sub-Saharan African Africa, according to the commercial real estate advisory firm, JLL.

U.S. tech firms turn to Africa-based developers
Tech companies founded in the United States are setting up software development centers in Nigeria and Kenya, where a number of young developers has led to growing tech communities.

Strong outlook for Lagos industrial real estate market
Notwithstanding the redundancies mounting beyond the all-important oil sector, run-away inflation cutting property transaction volumes and investors apathy to real estate, a new report released by Cluttons Nigeria says, there is a bright spot in the Lagos commercial sector, especially the industrial market.

‘Property firms need to enhance competence in real estate investments’
For Nigeria to make meaningful impact in the construction industry, investment must be made in growth sector of the economy.

Foreign investment in Mauritius jumps by 69% in first half of 2016 
Foreign direct investment in Mauritius grew 69% year-on-year in the first half of 2016, to 7.96bn rupees ($222m), driven by real estate, financial services and manufacturing, the board of investment said on Thursday.

CHARTS AND INFOGRAPHICS

The latest 2016-2017 WEF competitiveness index ranked Nigeria at 127, slipping from 124 in the last 2015-2016 report. Nigeria however received the highest score in sub-Sahara Africa for its large market size, a key advantage that will enable exploitation of greater economies of scale.
 
GCI score range across the 12 pillars in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), 2016–2017 edition Score (1–7)

INSIGHTS FROM THE REAL ESTATE DESK

Operations management in real estate covers a wide array of services, including managing building staff, supervising repairs, supply purchasing supervision as well as ensuring that building regulations are being adhered to.
 
Historically, due to the undersupply of high quality Grade-A office space in Lagos, corporate clients relied on residential office conversions. However, with the increase in foreign direct investment and as multinationals expand their footprint into countries like Nigeria, the demand for quality office space has steadily risen. This has increased the demand for professional operations teams as Grade A buildings typically have more demanding maintenance needs.  A skilled operations team is required to perform an increased variety of building maintenance services which include carrying out regular buildings inspections to pre-empt potentially high repair costs, maintaining the interior and exterior premises of the buildings as well providing technical advisory services.
 
“Operations teams need to be creative and proactive when dealing with problems in their buildings and they also need to have good communications skills when dealing with clients”
                                                                           – Omolola Johnson, Operations Manager, Landmark Africa

CURRENT PROJECTS

EVENTS SCHEDULE
Modern Airports Africa 2017
Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2017 – Friday, January 20, 2017
Venue: Nairobi, Kenya
For more information: http://www.modernairportsafrica.com
 
MIPIM
Date: 14 -17 March 2017
Venue: Palais de Festivals, Cannes, France
For more information: http://www.mipim.com/
 
East Africa Property Investment Summit
Date: 5 – 6 April 2017
Venue: Radisson Blu, Nairobi
For more information: http://www.eapisummit.com
 
GRI Africa Summit 2017
Date: 30 – 31 May 2017
Venue: TBC
For more information: http://www.griclub.org/event/world/gri-africa-summit-2017_187.html
 
COBRA 2017
Date: 29 – 31 August 2017
Venue: London
For more information: http://www.rics.org/ng/training-events/conferences-seminars/cobra-2017/london/