Nigeria’s Top 10 Real Estate Disruptors 2020

Man’s desire for comfort and convenience in his habitat has found an unprecedented expression in the application of technology and innovation. Technology has taken over the real estate industry by storm and developers are able to create decent homes and living environments at affordable costs.

The result is a testimony that is akin to re-inventing the wheel of the business. With the entry of innovative home designers into real estate, our generation is witnessing a transformation and a foretaste of the futuristic world.

Nigeria’s real estate industry has witnessed the entry of home developers who have taken the business to the level ofartificial intelligence (AI) platforms, digital open houses, block chain integrations and more in a new era in which interior design and technology have found a meeting point.

The game changers, such as Cosgrove Investment Limited, are making it possible for people to live in intelligent, luxury homes and environments that understand him and respect him. AI uses powerful computing technology to perform complex statistics that make predictions, automate certain functions and perform even greater tasks hitherto only possible by the capabilities of the human brain.

In the new era of internet of things, these operators have not let Nigeria to be left behind the rest of the world in building smart homes – homes equipped with a communication network, high-tech household devices and sensors that can be remotely accessed.

In the advancing world of real estate development, virtual assistants answer to voice commands to do things like prepare snacks, set reminders, dim the lights and answer general knowledge questions. Nigeria’s leading real estate developers are able to place the country in the process of this advancement.

They are increasingly automating modern homes, providing greater energy efficiency, convenience, comfort, and well-being. In line with the global trend, architectural designers here are increasingly incorporating features that go beyond convenience and comfort to adapt to the shifting lifestyles of the modern man. The embrace of clean energy – which is the way for the world, is a key aspect of the transformation.

Technology is charting the course the world is following into the future and real estate is in the forefront of businesses that are onboard the high technology-driven world. And with a growing number of people who want to extract every detail possible in comfort and convenience from their homes, the evolving high tech trends in real estate is defining the future of the business.

Technology, as a catalyst for change, is shaping the real estate landscape in a number of ways. Home automation is the way forward for the world, which simplifies life by a smart way of living. The enhanced living experience incorporates a number of automated solutions.

These include safety and security sensors that detect smoke or gas leakage, door intrusion or glass break and beam detectors through an alarm or a smart app notification. Advanced security cameras enable occupants to keep surveillance over their home 24/7 from anywhere with a simple click on the phone or computer.

Video door phones enable a resident to screen visitors through an indoor monitor or a smart-app on the phone or laptop. Homes controlled by voice commands are emerging where multiple devices can be turned on/off through voice commands.

There are single-button home themes with which homes can be customized to specific profile moods. Multiple devices in the home such as like lights, fans, and air conditioners can be scheduled to switch on/off at a specific time.

Intelligent air-conditioning controls have taken over the job of controlling the air conditioners through a smart app on the phone or computer. With sensor control of lighting and devices, lights and exhaust fans turn on/off automatically based on movements and presence.

Remote control door locks open doors with a simple click or swipe on a device. Panic buttons and smoke sensors raise safety and security standards with alerts that notify of unforeseen circumstances.

The leading new generation real estate developers are offering all the latest technologies for the comfort and security of the resident. This is made possible by the incorporation of electric power solutions to the development of residential estates.

In Nigeria as in the rest of the world, the smart home market has been one of the fastest growing for the past four to five years. Globally, it is forecast to grow more than three folds in five years to 2021.

In China, the market is expected to advance from $1.2 billion in 2016 to $13 billion by 2021. Europe’s smart home market is expected to be $19 billion strong in 2021. In Nigeria, Cosgrove’s smart homes are fully sold out well ahead of development, indicating a growth rate well ahead of the US and the UK.

Top10 Magazine went in search of high value creating names that constitute the 21st century real estate innovators on a mission to change the housing narrative in Nigeria. The outcome is a dependable guide on who’s who on the top 10 game changers driving the Nigerian real estate market.

The top 10 league consists of real estate operators who are in the forefront of the defined markets they are out to serve. Their distinguishing features centre on the application of innovation and modern technology to accomplish great missions that have elevated people and communities to internationally acceptable living standards.

Some have excelled in the use of technology to create smart homes and secured living communities of no lower standard than what obtains in the most advanced world. Some have built living communities that represent oasis of the developed world in terms of decency, security and infrastructures in Nigeria’s otherwise poor living standard. 

There are others who have applied innovative approaches to reduce the cost of housing development and made modern housing facilities affordable to people across the income brackets. We found in their operations good examples in the use of local construction materials to create great values at low cost and good margins.

Also in the group are real estate developers and brokers that have bridged the gap of credibility and trust in land and property dealings, which has been a nightmare to property buyers for decades. For the first time in the history of the industry, institutions have emerged that keep their promises on home deliveries to the letter.

There is in the group a top runner in creation of green environments that run on clean, renewable energy, sending generating sets off residential communities ahead of time.

A common feature among the top 10 players is creation of wealth and employment directly through the emergence of an army of marketers and indirectly through the multiplier chain the high growth in the real estate industry has triggered in the connected sectors and industries.