Land Banking
Among other stories that I know, I will share the most recent one that happened this year. This was a discussion with my landlord on how he got his plots of land in Arab road, kubwa Abuja, Nigeria for 600k years ago. He said the place was a thick forest and there was no sign that the place would one day become a city. He even mentioned that he declined at the point of payment until his wife encouraged him. Even with the encouragement, he said he later sold some of the other plots he bought around that same location. His only #REGRET today is that he wished he had bought more plots then and he didn't sell the other ones he sold then. Today, he had 15units block of flats with ample parking space and a garden on the same plots he was practically encouraged to buy years back. I wish I could tell you his annual Return on Investment (ROI)!
Landbanking investment basically is about prospecting a landed property that's not yet fully developed or in a seemingly undeveloped environment but has a potential for high return when developed. For we the real estate developers, by virtue of our work and the information we're privy to, we make a lot of calculated moves that may not make sense to a lay man but to just a few that can trust our judgements, study patterns and have the guts to ACT while others are WAITING. However, because of this part of the world where we can't predict our government or hold them accountable for a number of things, some of our predictions might not happen as planned but then, everyday that passes over a property increases the value of the property. And some other times, a development can come faster than expected. So what happens when this happens? A property that you COULD afford will suddenly become the same property that you CAN'T afford just almost immediately. I have a lot of people with this REGRETS over the years. Infact, some of my clients still shared this experience with me this week. The same thing goes for FLIP investments and buying targeted Distressed properties etc. All the opportunities in real estate revolve around having quality/ timely information, knowing when to key in and sell out etc. You may not have most of these information just like I am not expected to have some of your professional information too. This is why it's wisdom to leverage on the information of the experts. Remember, it is always affordable before it looks appealing and always expensive when it becomes attractive. This simply explains why most of us can't buy properties where we desire today. Don't make the same mistake again this year. A word is enough for the wise!