05/04/2025
This was how God saved my friend. Well, God saved him through my professional advice and by sharing my personal experience with him.
I have this friend who wanted to buy land from a real estate company. He called me on a Sunday evening. Although I rarely pick business calls on Sunday but I mean na my padi now, lol.
So I picked the call and after greetings, he said, "Tosin, I get this land I wan pay for tomorrow. I don't know, something just said I should call you. What do you think bro? Tosin please tell me the honest truth. I need to know if this is a good deal. (By the way, my family members and friends call me Tosin. That's a story for another day).
So, I asked my friend these questions:
* Whatโs the development plan?
* Are houses coming up?
* Are people living there, or just bush meats and trees?
* Does the estate have an approved layout and you've seen it? (I don't joke with this when a client is buying land from a real estate developer.
I also told him of how I regret buying a property in Epe. It's been four years already, the place is still a thick bush. The developer has moved on to the next project. Selling land without any development plan.
He got back to me the following day that the company couldn't give a convincing response to those questions.
He eventually went for another property. The value of the land has increased from N3m to N8m within two years. Within two years, there's electricity in the estate already and more people are developing their lands.
You see, land value doesnโt just increase because someone called it an estate or built a fancy entrance.
There are FOUR major factors that drive appreciation:
1๏ธโฃ Location
2๏ธโฃ Land Title
3๏ธโฃ Demand
4๏ธโฃ Development
And if Iโm being honest with you, development is the biggest driver of real estate value appreciation. It not only increases demand, it pushes prices up at a speed that surprises even the early investors.
This is why I tell people to be careful of โdevelopersโ who only do gatehouses and call it a residential estate. I call them advanced omo onile.
The true players in this industry go beyond fencing. They build, they attract life into the estate, and thatโs what brings value.
Real estate is not just about buying land. Itโs about buying the right land that people will beg you to sell in a few years.
And if youโre already considering a property, I can help you check if it passes the development test.
ยฉ Michael Opeoluwa
Real Estate Consultant || Affordable Housing Advocate