Houses in Lagos

When most people think of real estate in Lagos, they typically envision houses, estates, offices, or shopping malls. But quietly, a different kind of property is becoming one of the city’s most valuable assets. According to the recent  Lagos Real Estate Development Pipeline Report 2025/26 , data centres are now the fastest-growing real estate asset class in Lagos, with total capacity projected to exceed 218 megawatts (MW) by 2030. That sentence may sound technical, but it signals a significant shift in how Lagos is being developed. First, what exactly is a data centre? A data centre is a purpose-built facility that houses servers, cloud storage systems, internet exchange infrastructure, and enterprise and financial data platforms. These buildings power: banks and fintech apps telecom networks streaming platforms government systems global cloud services They are not offices or factories, but they are highly valuable real estate because they are fixed, infrastructure-heavy, and ...

Lagos’s housing challenge is often framed as a question of numbers: how many units are missing, how fast demand is rising, and how far supply lags behind population growth. But beneath these metrics lies a quieter shift that is shaping how the city expands: a  change in where risk, responsibility, and failure now sit within housing delivery . Increasingly, new residential estates in Lagos are being enabled not by full public infrastructure provision or large, balance-sheet-heavy private developers, but by collective buyer structures that step into the gap between land acquisition and livable neighborhoods. This shift has consequences that go beyond affordability or access. It alters how urban growth is financed, governed, and ultimately sustained. Historically, the logic of urban expansion followed a familiar order. The government opened up land through roads, drainage, and utilities. Developers built on that foundation. Buyers entered once neighbourhoods were largely functional....

For years, Lagos State has acknowledged a difficult truth: the city is growing faster than the government alone can plan, fund, and service. Infrastructure gaps, housing shortages, and urban sprawl have forced a quiet reordering of roles. Today, cooperative societies are stepping into a much larger role than before:  moving beyond buying housing units to funding and shaping entire developments . Cooperative societies have long been participants in Lagos’s housing market, largely as bulk buyers of homes for their members. What has changed is how deeply they are now embedded in the development process .  Across Lagos, especially along the Lekki–Epe corridor, cooperative-backed capital is funding roads, power, drainage, housing, and even entire city-scale developments. The result is an uncomfortable but necessary question: Are cooperative societies beginning to challenge the government’s traditional role in Lagos’s urban development? Aerial view of Lagos real estate growth in the...

Lagos metro map Lagos has become a city of big urban experiments. As population pressure, housing demand, and infrastructure strain continue to reshape Africa’s largest city, real estate development has increasingly shifted from piecemeal estates to large, master-planned environments. One of the most ambitious of these emerging projects is Metro Smart City , a privately led smart-city development promoted by Metrospeed Property Development Limited . Backed by major institutional cooperative societies, most recently the NLNG Cooperative Society,  the project has drawn attention for both its scale and its symbolism: a sign of how private capital is stepping in to shape Lagos’s urban future. This article explains what Metro Smart City is, how it started, who is behind it, why oil and gas cooperatives are investing heavily, and what it realistically means for Lagos’s real estate landscape. What Exactly Is Metro Smart City? Metro Smart City is a large-scale, master-planned mixed-use dev...

A guide to what the fund is, how it works, who it helps, and what Nigerians should expect next. Nigeria’s housing market has struggled for decades: high mortgage rates, short loan tenures, cash-upfront home sales, and banks unwilling to issue long-term mortgages because they lack stable funding. In 2025, the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) introduced what it calls a  transformational solution : the  MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF) , a government-backed, private-sector–supported mechanism designed to reshape how Nigerians access housing. MREIF is more than a loan program. It is a  ₦1 trillion structured investment fund  built to mobilize public and private capital, provide low-cost mortgages, de-risk developers, and stimulate large-scale housing development across the country. It is regulated under Nigeria’s capital markets rules and operates like a modern real estate investment fund, with commercial units now trading on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). A...

The Lagos State Government has reaffirmed a major urban-development stance: all buildings and structures erected under high-tension power lines across the state will be removed . This announcement, made during an inspection tour around the Third Mainland Bridge corridor, signals a renewed wave of enforcement aimed at clearing restricted zones, reducing safety risks, and restoring urban order. For anyone living, renting, buying, or investing in Lagos, this story is more than government talk. It affects safety, legality, and long-term property value. During an official inspection from Oworonshoki to Adekunle and the Makoko/Ebute-Meta axis , Lagos State Government officials discovered multiple shanties and illegal structures built beneath high-tension power lines and inside the 50-metre legally required right-of-way. Key officials present included: Olajide Babatunde – Special Adviser to the Governor on Electronic Geographic Information System (eGIS) and Urban Development Gbolaha...

Lagos State is leaning into New Town Development as a strategic response to decades of rapid growth, overcrowding, and strained infrastructure. The plan is simple in concept and complex in execution: create well-planned, serviced urban centers outside the old city core so Lagos can grow in a controlled, livable way rather than expand as a chaotic sprawl. The  New Towns Development Authority (NTDA) , established in 1981, leads this initiative. Its goal is to develop  self-contained, sustainable communities  with proper infrastructure, housing, and social amenities rather than allowing unplanned sprawl that has characterized parts of Lagos for decades. NTDA’s stated mission is to “develop new towns with functional infrastructure” and to manage planned growth beyond the already congested metropolitan zones. As NTDA’s website explains, Lagos is small in land area but huge in population , and planned new towns are meant to “open up the semi-rural settings” while providin...

The Federal Government of Nigeria launched the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund (MREIF) in January 2025 as a bold step to tackle the country’s massive housing deficit. Designed as a ₦1 trillion real estate investment vehicle , MREIF aims to provide long-term, affordable financing for housing projects while allowing Nigerians, both retail and institutional investors, to invest in the real estate market. The fund’s goal is simple: make homeownership more accessible, stimulate the construction sector, and inject transparency and structure into Nigeria’s housing finance system. Through public-private collaboration, MREIF seeks to create a sustainable pipeline for developers and provide mortgage solutions that middle-income earners can afford. Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash In November 2025, the Series 2 tranche of MREIF was officially listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) . Valued at ₦100 billion , this commercial tranche is now open to both retail and institutional investors, exp...

The Lagos State Assembly is currently considering the Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill 2025, a  major reform that could dramatically change how rent and tenancy work across the city. The bill passed its second reading on July 10, 2025.  The bill's sponsor has not been publicly named, and as of December 2025, it remains a draft and has not yet been enacted into law . This means its provisions are still under review and are not yet legally binding. Here are the key changes proposed in the bill: Real-estate agents must register with LASRERA, and agency fees are capped at 5% of annual rent (down from the common 10–15%).  New renters cannot be forced to pay more than one year’s rent upfront . Monthly tenants are protected from demands beyond three months’ advance rent . Violations may attract fines or jail time.  The bill criminalizes illegal eviction practices—landlords can no longer cut utilities, block access, or seize property without a court order. O...

Eko Atlantic has emerged as Lagos’ top-performing luxury residential district, posting a 59.5% sales growth over five years, according to Estate Intel. The data shows prime districts like Ikoyi, Banana Island, Victoria Island, and Oniru also posted strong gains, but Eko Atlantic led the pack. For developers, the message is clear: intentional planning and quality infrastructure drive value. Key Takeaways Master Planning Matters: Buyers are rewarding estates with clear layouts, traffic management, and long-term zoning. Plan like a city. Infrastructure Sells: Beyond finishes, uninterrupted power, water, drainage, digital connectivity, and climate resilience are what attract premium buyers. Scarcity Drives Value: Controlled supply and high building standards maintain long-term appreciation. Don’t flood the market with “just any building.” Facility Management Is Critical: Waste disposal, security, landscaping, maintenance, and transparency influence how buyers perceive value. ...