- NMRC to replicate housing finance solution in other housing reform friendly states
The Ogun State Government has leveraged its adoption and implementation of housing market reforms to attract N2.5Billion from the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) to enhance the delivery of affordable housing to its citizens.
Gateway Mortgage Bank Limited, wholly owned by the Ogun State Government, is leveraging the funds to provide 15–20-year mortgage loans to civil servants to benefit from government-financed housing projects.
Mr. Kehinde Ogundimu, the MD/CEO, NMRC, stated this in a recent housing industry stakeholder engagement anchored by Mr. Festus Adebayo, the Executive Director, Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN).
Mr. Ogundimu noted that the NMRC’s intervention is a logical result of Ogun state’s passage of the Model Mortgage and Foreclosure Law (MMFL) in 2021 and the implementation of systems and processes contained in the foreclosure law. He also pointed to the existence of a financially prudent mortgage bank, the government’s friendly housing reforms posture, and its proactive steps to modernize the housing market landscape.
“We want to use Ogun State as an example because we are hoping to replicate this in other housing reform-friendly states. Ogun State passed the model and foreclosure law that gives comfort to investors; they have a thriving mortgage bank, the Gateway Mortgage Bank. Our analysis showed that the Bank has been profitable and is well run. The Ministry of Finance also built houses that were very affordable and reasonably priced. The presence of all these gave us the comfort to grant them the liquidity they require to enable civil servants to achieve their homeownership dream. Mr. President, in his recent visit to Ogun State, commissioned one of those estates” Mr. Kehinde Ogundimu, NMRC, MD/CEO.
Mr. Ogundimu further added that NMRC’s direct involvement with Gateway ensured significantly lower interest rate spread on the mortgages to lessen the financial burden on homeowners.
“Because we are working directly with Gateway Mortgage Bank, and we made them understand that we wanted the money to get to the mortgagor at the lowest rate, the interest rates came down significantly,”Mr. Kehinde Ogundimu, NMRC, MD/CEO.
