Assessment of Residential Real Estate Investment Performance in Lafia Metropolis, Nigeria

Investors are expected to be guided through investment performance measurement and analysis in order to safeguard against potential loss of investment returns or the capital invested. Whereas residential real estate (RRE) constitutes a significant part of the portfolios of individual and institutional investors across the globe, the assessment of risk-return performance of RRE investment in Nigeria generally has not been well researched. Investors in real estate (RE) in the Lafia city of Nasarawa State, like other cities in Nigeria, still rely on mere intuition, sales comparison and the rule of thumb in real estate investment decisions-making. Consequently, these ill-informed investors often venture into poorly conceived and subsequently financially disastrous real estate investment projects thereby failing to achieve their desired investment objectives. Hence, this research was conducted to evaluate the performances of RRE investment in Lafia metropolis of north-central Nigeria with a view to guiding existing and potential real estate investors and practitioners in the region in making informed property investment decision. A survey research design was adopted to collect transacted residential property value data from estate surveying and valuation firms as well as reputable estate agent offices in the study area. Mean scores, property value index and holding period return model were used to analyse the rental/capital value indices and total return performance respectively. The modified value-at-risk model was used to assess risk while the modified Sharpe ratio was used to evaluate the risk-return performance of RRE investment performance in the study area. The research findings revealed, among others, a progressive increase in rental and capital values of RRE within the study period. RRE investment showed an average rental growth of 6.8% per annum and capital value growth of 9.4% per annum. On the basis of investment returns, it was found that Angwan Doka outperformed other selected neighbourhoods in the study area with an average mean total return and risk-adjusted return of 13.76% and 0.80% per annum respectively while Shabu underperformed other locations with average mean total return and risk-adjusted return of 12.17% and 0.55% per annum. The study recommended, among others, that potential real estate investors should consider investing in residential real estate in Angwan Doka since this location gives higher total and risk-adjusted returns on residential property investment relative to other locations in the city

Local Governance Structures and Their Role in Mobilising Community Action: A Case of Recreational Facilities in Mining Towns in the Copperbelt Province

This paper explores the role of local governance structures at community level in mobilising community action in the redevelopment of recreational facilities in former mine townships in the Copperbelt Province. These facilities are experiencing a management quandary resulting from the privatisation of the mining conglomerate, ZCCM, in the late 1990s. This paper argues that every society has a way of reorganising itself when such vacuums in management occur. Growing literature places this research agenda within “self-organising”, “co-production”, “self-managing”, etc. Underpinning these self-organising processes are local governance structures devised by communities themselves, which include various actors being involved in the decision making and management processes for community development. In modern societies, the role of these structures is often underplayed and only realised when a vacuum appears in the management as is the case for formerly mine-owned recreational facilities in Copperbelt towns. A multi-case study approach was adopted in this mixed method research to determine the communities’ ability to regenerate the dilapidated recreation centres. The research found that the communities had the social capital required to drive the regeneration process, exhibited by the benevolence shown to each other, the willingness to participate in activities at the recreation centres and the availability of self-organising associations. Additionally, the local structures were able to self-organise and participate in decision making and management required for successful community development

Impact of Movement Control Order on Risk-Adjusted Performance of the Malaysian Real Estate Investment Trusts (M-REITs)

The first Movement Control Order (MCO) implemented by the Malaysian government from 18th March 2020 to 3rd May 2020 was unprecedented. Since Malaysia was only mildly affected by previous epidemics or pandemics unlike the COVID-19, studies of the pandemic impact on the performance of Malaysian firms and M-REITs in specific were limited. To close this gap, this study compares Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio and Jensen Alpha ratio of 18 M-REITs for sub-periods before, during and after the MCO. Paired sample t-test results for all these three risk-adjusted performance measures consistently show that M-REITs significantly performed better during the MCO compared to before the MCO as well as after the MCO compared to before the MCO. The results suggest that the business model and portfolio of real estate managed by M-REITs are resilient against both systematic and unsystematic risk factors, and imply that the intrinsic value of M-REITs is not significantly affected by the market uncertainty caused by movement restriction. The findings also bolster investors’ confidence to include M-REITs as part of their diversified investment portfolio to achieve sustainable return performance in the post-Covid period. To remain resilient and sustainable, the management of M-REITs should diversify the portfolio of properties and real estate they managed since the movement restriction had varying repercussions on different types of real estate. Rooms for further diversification are justified by a larger percentage of M-REITs having positive Treynor ratios after the MCO sub-period if compared to positive Sharpe ratios. A well-diversified portfolio managed by an M-REIT can reduce unsystematic risk, which is part of the total risk measured by standard deviation, eventually moving towards a positive Sharpe ratio

Dynamic Relationships among Composite Property Prices of Major Chinese Cities: Contemporaneous Causality through Vector Error Corrections and Directed Acyclic Graphs

The present study is the first one that investigates dynamic relations among composite real estate price indices of ten different cities in China during the years from 2005 to 2021. Utilizing the data recorded on a monthly basis, we apply VECM (vector error-correction modeling) and DAGs (directed acyclic graphs) in order to characterize contemporaneous causal relations among the ten real estate price indices. We use the PC algorithm to identify a pattern with non-directed edges and the LiNGAM algorithm to determine the causal ordering, based on which we calculate the results of innovation accounting. The LiNGAM algorithm adopted here effectively utilizes non-normality for facilitating the arrival of complete causal orderings. Our results show that price dynamics revealed through processes of price adjustments due to shocks to prices are rather sophisticated and such dynamics are, in general, dominated by price indices of Shanghai and Shenzhen, which are two top-tier cities among the four top-tier cities in China. This indicates that policy design on composite property prices should be focusing on price indices of Shanghai and Shenzhen

Perspective towards the Perceived Benefits and Challenges on Building Information Modelling - Facility Management (BIM-FM) Integration at an Early Stage of BIM Projects

Building information modelling (BIM) is the most recent facility management (FM) technology adopted in Malaysia. However, management and information technology (IT) system improvements are required for the adoption of this technology. Incorporating BIM and FM at an early stage of a project has the potential to yield significant benefits but may also increase project risk. Through a survey, this study aims at investigating the prospective benefits and challenges of BIM-FM integration in the early phases of a BIM project. 109 (55.6%) of the 196 facility management companies in Klang Valley answered a questionnaire survey that was sent to them. To determine the perceived benefits and obstacles of the integrated BIM-FM process, mean scores and standard deviations were computed. As a result, respondents perceived positively that integrating BIM-FM in the early phase of the BIM project will increase performance, improve collaboration and communication, increase FM business values, and reduce costs and time. In the meantime, all respondents agreed that organizational, process and technological factors influence the early adoption of BIM-FM integration in the Malaysian construction industry. This study substantially contributes to the current understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of BIM-FM integration in the early stages of BIM projects in Malaysia

Spatial-Temporal Analysis of Residential Housing, Office Property, and Retail Property Price Index Correlations: Evidence from Ten Chinese Cities

Using correlation-based hierarchical analysis and synchronization analysis, this study focuses on monthly price indices for residential homes, office buildings, and retail properties in ten major Chinese cities for the years 2005 to 2021. Through these analyses, one can identify interactions and interdependence among the price indices, heterogeneous patterns in synchronizations of the price indices, and their evolving paths with time. Empirical findings suggest that the degree of real estate price comovements across all property types and cities is relatively low and stable from January 2017 to February 2020, followed by significant increases during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 to January 2021 and significant decreases since February 2021 with the recovery of the economy. Several groups of property types and cities are determined in this study, each of which having its members reveal rather strong but volatile synchronizations of price indices. Rolling importance analysis does not suggest persistent increasing or decreasing trends for the real estate price associated with a specific property type and city. Policy studies on real estate price comovements may benefit from these findings here

Evaluating the Influence of Foreign Exchange Policy Regime on the Construction Sector in Nigeria

In developing economies, foreign exchange policy regime (FEPR) play a critical role in the viability of all sectors of the economy. In Nigeria, the economy is dependent on foreign inputs from contracting services, technology, materials, expatriates, etc. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of FEPR on the performance of the construction sector in Nigeria. To achieve this goal, time series data was extracted from United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) on the construction sector, gross domestic product (GDP) and FEPR for 50 years spanning from 1970 to 2019. The study uses econometric approach including tests of stationarity and co-integration as well as the generalized method of moment (GMM) to model the relationships between the variables. The study reveals that the 1986 FEPR reform had significant and negative effect on the construction sector output in Nigeria. This implies that the performance of the construction sector is affected by the state of the economy and government policy. This study proves that the foreign exchange policy regime does not significantly influence the construction industry during the period of review. It also ascertained that the development of the construction sector depends more on previous construction outputs and only altered due to oil export shock. Hence, this study recommends that sustainable construction development strategies should be implemented to eliminate construction sector challenges and reduce the effect of foreign exchange rate volatility on the construction sector. Finally, monetary and fiscal policies that can engender sustainable growth and development of the construction sector should be implemented

Problem Caused by COVID-19 Pandemic on the Construction Industry of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The chances to remedy the construction industry from its diverse problems have weakened due to the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Although the pandemic is almost reduced to history, its impacts linger with acute effects on the industry’s performance. This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the construction sector of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria with a specific focus on problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Using survey research design, structured questionnaires were administered to 213 respondents (61 Architects, 32 builders, 46 quantity surveyors, and 74 Civil Engineers). Data analysis involved mean item scores, Chi-Square and Kruskal Wallis tests. The findings revealed that COVID-19 has severed the movement of people and interpersonal relationships, delayed project timelines, escalated transportation problems, and induced high costs of construction resources and project costs. The implication shows that stakeholders in the construction industry are still glued to work ethics during the COVID-19 period or are yet to modify behaviours into the industry norms in terms of human relations and movement. A change in perception is needed to restore the stakeholders to the traditional way of life through an awareness campaign, while the government needs to strengthen economic recovery policies and institute pro-construction industry parameters to reduce the cost of construction resources and overall project costs to accelerate the recovery path of the sector

The Use or Misuse of Urban Streets? Exploration of Everyday Urbanism in Traditional City Centres

Urban residents often transform street precincts into places for informal activities through everyday urbanism to meet their daily needs, particularly in traditional city centres. Although strict regulations and control over public space exist, people-centred (bottom-up) interventions usually occur in traditional city centres. While such action exemplifies the rights people claim to suit their requirements and improve the daily living experience, there are arguments that everyday use of the streets generates land-use problems. In this regard, using data collected through questionnaire surveys, observations, and interviews, this study explores the factors that facilitate everyday urbanism and encourage using the streets as public spaces in traditional city centres of Nigeria. This is to provide helpful information that could serve as a tool for putting everyday urbanism into urban planning and design practices. The study established that the three most common street activities in the traditional city centres were informal trading, social events/ceremonies, and cultural festivals. It was also shown that the everyday use of public spaces created a unique setting for social interaction among people and contributed to the liveliness of the city centres. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the crucial factors that facilitated and encouraged the everyday use of streets were the economic factor (18.2%), the inadequacy of environmental amenities (17.8%), and culture and social lifestyle (12.2%). This study concludes that everyday urbanism contributes significantly to creating vibrant communities and improving life quality; therefore, it is recommended that the control and management of activities in public spaces should align with people\u27s culture, lived experiences and socioeconomic realities

The Need for Creative Placemaking in New Development Areas: An Analysis of the Real Estate Developments of Qom, Iran

Sense of place gives meaning to the areas in which we live. Despite the importance of the sense of place in the quality of life and the success of new development areas, many new developments, especially those built as exurbs to large cities and geared towards housing for middle and lower-income people, are built without a conscious understanding and design to encourage a sense of place. While recognizing that economic and longstanding racial, religious, and other societal factors might influence the flow of capital and resources to new development areas, placemaking can provide communities with some of the tools they need to revitalize neighborhoods. This paper presents the findings of one of those places in Qom, Iran, where development was built without consulting those who would live there and, in turn, suffered the repercussions of that decision. Moreover, although some studies have acknowledged the importance of creative placemaking, limited studies have provided practical strategies to improve new development areas using this concept. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the current sense of place and propose practical strategies to enhance place quality in new development areas using creative placemaking. Through a mixed-method study, including a survey and follow-up interviews with the community’s residents, the researchers have found that a general banality exists in the Qom, which degrades the residents\u27 sense of place. The research results show the importance of social participation, emphasizing co-produced and citizen-led creative placemaking at the beginning of the development process. As only half of the community has been developed, the findings of this research can help lead the future of real estate development and, in turn, help real estate developers design and build communities that will create a sense of belonging for residents, maintain their value and be a destination for future residents