First Homes Africa Housing Solution Targets Millennial
The future of the housing market is currently being defined based on the lifestyle and habits of young people, rightly known as the millennial.
This thought process shaped a unique web-enabled product First Homes Africa introduced into the nation’s real estate market recently to cater specifically to young people.
The Chief Finance Officer of First Homes Africa, Mr. Bayo Ogunnusi, who presented their innovative home buying and selling system to journalists, explained that young people would be given an opportunity to save and buy their preferred home in their chosen location.
The number of prospective homeowner in the different hubs would determine how fast the prequalified developer would build their homes, said Ogunnusi, explaining that they would save an agreed amount for 15 months, after which they would be informed of the readiness of their homes.
He said “By the 12th month we would send you a message that the number of people in your preferred location is not enough for us to build and we will give you an option to either choose another location or take back you money.”
He said the first amount saved by these prospective homebuyers would be doubled, as an incentive. If s/he saves N100,000, “we double the N100,000, but it is not in cash so you can’t withdraw that N100,000 we give you, but it is to reduce your equity in future.”
According to Ogunnusi, their system is essentially to use data to correct the anomalies in the real estate sector, adding that 1,700 registered in the first seven days after they opened their portal on October 1, this year.
Founder of First Homes Africa Limited, Mr. Francis Ekeng said, via telephone, that they have been working on the product behind the scene for the past six years. “It is something that we believe is the way to solve the housing problem, not only in Nigeria but also across the globe, especially in Africa.
“If you look at the challenges of an average young adult in Africa, when it comes to home ownership, it is very tasking. It is not just a great concern, it is a challenge. At the same time, it is an opportunity.”
Ekeng said they have studied the situation, stating that “there is no time that the legislation of Nigeria or Africa will be perfect to resolve it; there is no time interest rate will resolve it, no time tariffs on building materials and other interventions will solve it independently. We need to change the dynamics, change how we approach it. We need to make home ownership more accessible, cheaper; lower the bar and let people be able to come on board.”
He said what they are trying to do is get young people on board to earn returns on their assets, at the same time live under the same rules. So, it is a complete freshness in that space.”
According to the Founder, Mr. Ekeng, “We are ‘using platform technology to build business models that were not previously possible, but allow for intelligent data aggregation and smart network connections. With the use of technology- cloud computing, big data, predictive analysis, artificial intelligence, mobile technology and social networks, we plan to create a pull approach to housing market and create houses that are suited to the continent’s young adults lifestyle; reduce the waste traditionally associated with house design and building in Africa and pass the savings on to the target market in form of affordable housing.”
First Homes Africa, he said would adopt a 21st century approach to solve the millennial home ownership deficit in Nigeria, which it achieves with the use of technology. The Platform brings new thinking and innovation to solving an old problem by leveraging on network connectivity and data Intelligence to create smart business solutions.