An astute Estate Surveyor and Valuer, Mr. Akinropo Abraham, has enjoined the students of Estate Management, in Covenant University, to invest more in Commercial Real Estate as they begin their professional journey, as they are more viable and tend to return more gross revenue with less work.
He gave this advice while making his presentation as the Guest Speaker at the Town and Gown interaction seminar of the Department of Estate Management, which held on the 16th of June, 2023, with the theme, ‘Commercial Real Estate Numbers and Stories: The Role of Value Estimator.’
He went on to explain that Commercial Real Estate, refers to properties that are used for business purposes, such as, office buildings, retail spaces, industrial warehouses, hotels, and multifamily apartment buildings with more than four units.
He posited, “In general, commercial real estate is less risky from this perspective as it almost always has a steady cash flow due to the rock-solid lease terms in place for tenants. As against acquiring a residential property which can be quite risky as those tend to have unstable cash flow with the potential for drastic changes in market demand.”
Mr. Abraham decried some dysfunctional factors influencing real estate, which according to him, include market sentiments and speculation, lack of information and transparency on the part of market dealers; regulatory and legal impediments and others which must be watched in order for one to succeed in real estate business.
Speaking further, he opened the eyes of the students to the fact that people are interested in their stories; stories of their prowess and how they were able to weather the storm and come out big in the process, thereby creating a niche for their selves as worthy champions in future.
He cited the example of the Chancellor, Dr David Oyedepo, and how he left a bustling city in Lagos, to settle in Ota, a bush at the time, overcoming many obstacles and detractions from naysayers; and through sheer doggedness, came to establish the Church and the University in a place that could have been described as an uninhabitable forest. Charging the students to take up the gauntlet by daring to establish another Wonder-City, like Canaanland, thereby etching their names in gold just like the Chancellor did.
He elucidated on the influence of history on the value of properties; stating that positive history of any property can positively influence its value, while negative story or narrative could bring the value down. He posited that people are always interested in properties of successful people and their success stories also influence the value of their property.
The Head, Department of Estate Management, Professor Olusola Ajibola, enjoined the students to glean from the vast experience of the speaker to build for themselves a valuable future.
Speaking further, he eulogised the Covenant University Management for creating a platform like the ‘Town and Gown’ as a way of inculcating in the students a readiness for the World of Work, leaving them with the responsibility to take advantage of the benefits of the programme.
Also present were other Senior Faculty of the Department.