Why it is the year for your investment in Eko Atlantic
When Castles Lifestyle (then simply known as Castles) was first published in October 1999, a 1000sqm plot of land in Banana Island was N6.5m. A similar plot in Lekki Phase 1 was between N1m – N2m while a 675sqm plot in Victoria Garden City, Lekki was N1.2m. Popular locations like Eko Atlantic City, NICON Town, Orange Island, Onikoyi Foreshore etc were ideas in the minds of developers and policy makers. They would be birthed in the 22 years we spent watching the real estate markets in Nigeria and particularly, the Lagos market. Today, a 1,000sqm plot in Banana Island is anything from N1.2billion Naira – N1.5billion. Detached houses are commanding $2m price tags.
But it was not always the case that prices in choice locations took off. NICON Town and Victoria Garden City saw meteoric rises in prices almost from the start. In the early days, they were virtually doubling year on year I remember writing on how that 675sqm plot in Victoria Island jumped from the allocation price of N1.2m to N12m in 5 short years.. Lekki Phase 1 and Banana Island did not enjoy similar success. They sort of strolled along (price wise) until the market turned and demand started to push prices upwards in stratospheric proportions. It is easy with hindsight, to postulate what happened and when it happened. So I will not bore you with my opinion!
But I will say this. There is that almost imperceptible tingling feeling that this is the year that developers and end-purchasers of real estate products will rue not getting into Eko Atlantic City. The calls by representatives of bluechip companies and HNIs with ‘off hand’ enquiries on how they should view the location is significant. As usual in these shores, everything is ‘hush hush’ and the Eko Atlantic staff are very discreet. But no one can ignore the announcement of the American Consulate and The Central Bank Governor on the massive game changing projects to be located here. See pages 18 – 21 of the March 2022 edition of Highbrow for a detailed analysis of the investment prospects of the City. The smart money is on Eko Atlantic City and over this year, we will continue to relay insights on latest events and trends in this location.
In other news….. Highbrow is now N2000
We have tried to keep a lid on the cover price of your favourite magazine, but it has been a losing battle. Sadly, the cover price must rise from N500 to N2000 if we are to continue to publish. But we can give free delivery to addresses in central areas of Abuja and to Lekki Phase 1, Ikoyi and Victoria Island in Lagos. Please email highbrow@castles.com.ng for details.
To compensate for this price hike, we have produced a bumper edition this March, which we expect with enthral, excite, and encourage you to get out and execute that project!