Minister of Finance and coordinating Minister of the economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday noted that most applicants to the federal government mortgage scheme prefer to own houses in the two main urban areas of Abuja and Lagos.
The Minister hinged her assertion on the 66,402 applications for 10,000 mortgages of the federal government mortgage refinance scheme which was launched in August.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, she said it was indicative of the unity reigning in the country for Nigerians of different ethnic backgrounds to prefer buying homes in Lagos and Abuja.
It was recorded that entries for the pilot application for the mortgages, which closed on September 5, came mostly from employed Nigerians who live in rented apartments across the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory.
Hear her, “as of Friday, September 5, 2014, we had received 66,402 valid applications – with more still calling. That is more than six times over subscription to our initial 10,000 pilot. We are extremely pleased with this outcome,
“The applications were spread across the 36 states including the FCT. Sixty-three per cent of applicants were male, with 37 per cent female. Eighty-nine per cent of applications applied for themselves – that is in their own name, even our women. Everybody seems to want to own their own – interesting. Only 11 per cent were joint applications; that is husband and wife,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
The Minister put the number of applicants who were in the 31 to 40-year age bracket at almost 60 per cent, adding that “15 per cent in the 21 to 30-year bracket – that is a healthy 75 per cent of young people willing to buy homes and can easily have tenors of up to 20 years for their mortgages.”
While further affirming that the mortgage scheme exposed Nigerians preference for three-bedroom flats/houses going by the 62.7 per cent of applicants applying to acquire this property type, she explained: “Thirty-two per cent wanted two-bed flats and a small percentage applied for one-bedroom flats and one-bedroom self-contained flats. Ninety-six per cent of all applicants are currently living in rented accommodation.
“Fifty-one per cent of all applicants want to live in Abuja and 18 per cent in Lagos. This shows that almost 70 per cent of applicants want to live in the two main urban areas and there is a strong belief in Nigeria, showing that Abuja is truly the centre of unity. Ninety-two percent of applicants are in stable employed positions – the lenders will be very happy with this; whilst only eight per cent are self-employed.”
Okonjo-Iweala added that all applications would be reviewed, and the first completed 10, 000 mortgages would be published in national dailies, disclosing that: “Once qualified or notified, each applicant can then begin to look for a home that is within their borrowing range.”
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