Lagos Real Estate Briefing – April 24, 2026

Lagos Real Estate Briefing - April 24, 2026

This week's Lagos residential market continues to tilt toward selective capital, verified titles, and vertical development along the coastline. New project activity is concentrating in Eko Atlantic, Ikate, and the Lekki-Ajah corridor, while the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is redrawing the map of where diaspora and foreign buyers are willing to place deposits. Average Lagos home prices sat near 330 million naira heading into Q1 2026, with naira-denominated values up roughly 18% year-on-year according to market trackers, and construction cost inflation is still the single biggest force behind that move. Interest rates above 25% continue to push the market toward cash buyers, which includes a growing share of diaspora and foreign investors working through legit real estate developers with track records in Ikoyi, Victoria Island, and Ibeju-Lekki. The week's new headlines are less about frenzied launches and more about structured delivery: tower sods turned in Eko Atlantic, state housing rollouts on Lagos Island, and ongoing negotiation over what a reformed tax regime means for cross-border capital.

1. New project launches

Veritasi Homes, in collaboration with the Cooperative Investment and Thrift Society Limited (COOPLAG), turned the sod this month on Oyster Towers, a 22-storey residential building in Eko Atlantic City. The development sits on a 2,091 square metre parcel and is planned to deliver 82 luxury apartments and penthouses, adding another vertical product to the growing cluster of high-rises inside the reclaimed district. The partnership structure between a private developer and a cooperative society is notable because it brings collective-purchase capital into a segment that has historically relied on single high-net-worth buyers.

Ilubirin, the Lagos State waterfront scheme on Lagos Island, remains on track for completion within 2026. The 27-hectare site will carry close to 3,000 residential units across blocks ranging from 15 to 20 storeys, alongside mixed-use retail and public realm components. State officials have repeatedly described Ilubirin as central to their Q1 2026 target of delivering 14,022 new homes, with around 4,052 units already under construction and another 2,224 in the planning phase across the wider housing pipeline.

In the Lekki-Ajah corridor, the Sangotedo Phase II scheme in Eti Osa East is now working through an accelerated 528-unit build, while Egan-Igando Clusters II and III on the mainland are projected to produce 576 additional homes. These mainland clusters are positioned as supply-side responses to the state's three-million-unit deficit, not luxury plays, and the pricing reflects that.

Nautica Rise, one of the larger long-horizon projects inside Eko Atlantic, is expected to start residential tower construction this year. The masterplan calls for approximately 10 towers ranging from 20 to 50 floors, with delivery phased out to 2033. Buyers evaluating this product should read the delivery schedule carefully, because a 2033 finish line implies a longer capital lock-up than typical Lekki duplex builds.

A luxury five-bedroom duplex in Lekki was handed over to Nigerian music artist Spyro on April 23, with agent Ogbu Ikenna publicly documenting the close. The transaction itself is anecdotal, but it signals that the Lekki luxury single-family segment is still transacting at the upper end even as prime-market activity grows more selective.

2. Foreign buyer policies

The Land Use Act of 1978 remains the operative framework. All land in Nigeria is vested in the State Governor, and foreign buyers acquire statutory rights of occupancy rather than freehold. In practice this means a 99-year leasehold backed by a Certificate of Occupancy, and every transaction involving a foreign buyer requires Governor's Consent to be legally binding. Title "perfection," the process of registering and stamping the Governor's Consent at the Lagos State Lands Bureau, is the step that separates paid buyers from legally enforceable owners.

Nigeria does not impose a foreign ownership quota on residential property. Foreigners can acquire apartments, terraces, semi-detached and detached houses, duplexes, and bungalows in Lagos, subject to Governor's Consent and proper registration. Commercial land and agricultural land face more complex restrictions, but residential acquisitions in Lagos are accessible to international buyers working through legit real estate developers that hold clean titles and planning approvals.

The tax market shifted materially on January 1, 2026, when the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 took effect. Capital Gains Tax is now a progressive regime tied to taxpayer income, running from 0% to 30%. For companies, the CGT rate has moved from a flat 10% to 30%, aligning with corporate income tax. Primary residences remain exempt, but investment properties, second homes, and commercial real estate are taxable on disposal. The Act also introduces an "economic nexus" rule, giving Nigerian authorities grounds to tax offshore share sales when more than half the underlying value comes from Nigerian assets. Foreign investors from jurisdictions with double-taxation agreements, including the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, can generally credit Nigerian CGT against home-country liabilities.

Residency and repatriation channels are unchanged in structure but matter more for buyers funding from abroad. The Short-Term Residence Permit and the Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card (CERPAC) remain the two standard permits for long-stay foreign buyers. Repatriation of rental income or sale proceeds runs through the Central Bank of Nigeria's Form A process, which requires a Certificate of Capital Importation (CCI) recorded at the point of inflow. Buyers who skip the CCI at purchase cannot later repatriate proceeds at official rates.

Stamp Duty, a Tax Identification Number (TIN), and registration with the Federal Inland Revenue Service are still practical prerequisites. The single most cited mistake foreign buyers make, according to local counsel, is completing payment without completing title perfection.

3. Market trends and pricing

Lagos residential prices grew roughly 18% in naira terms between January 2025 and January 2026, with the range running from about 12% on parts of the mainland to roughly 25% along the Lekki corridor. The average home price sits around 330 million naira as of early 2026. Construction cost inflation remains the dominant mover, with developers passing higher material and labour costs to end buyers.

Three neighbourhoods are leading price growth this cycle. Ibeju-Lekki is tracking 20% to 25% annually, the Osapa London-Ikate-Agungi corridor is running 15% to 20%, and Yaba is around 12% to 18%. Land prices in areas immediately adjacent to the Dangote Refinery have reportedly climbed more than 300% over the past several years, with commercial plots near the refinery growing at roughly 25% annually versus 18% for residential nearby.

Transaction volumes skew toward cash. With lending rates above 25%, mortgage-financed sales remain a small share of the market. Rental yields across Lagos are broadly reported in the 8% to 20% range depending on district, with short-let operations in Lekki Phase 1, Ikoyi, and Victoria Island at the upper end, driven in part by diaspora owners running serviced apartments.

Abuja and Port Harcourt remain meaningful reference points. Abuja's prime districts have seen steadier but lower single-digit to low-teens appreciation, while Port Harcourt continues to trade at a discount to Lagos on a per-square-metre basis and with thinner transaction volumes. For foreign buyers comparing cities, Lagos still concentrates the deepest developer pipeline and the most liquid rental market.

Q1 2026 market commentary points to a more disciplined buyer. Diaspora and foreign capital is arriving with more documentation requirements, structured payment expectations, and demands for credible exits. This is the part of the market where a legit real estate developer track record matters most, because long lead times between off-plan purchase and delivery leave buyers exposed if the sponsor's capitalisation or execution is thin.

4. Infrastructure

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is the most consequential infrastructure item affecting residential values this quarter. After a $1.26 billion financing package closed in December 2025 for Phase 1 Section 2, construction activity has accelerated. Properties within roughly five kilometres of the coastal road are tracking a 25% to 40% appreciation spike as accessibility to the Lekki Free Trade Zone and the Dangote Refinery improves.

The Lekki-Epe Expressway expansion has been a similarly powerful driver. Epe property values rose approximately 18% nominally through 2026, driven by completed sections of the expressway and the enlarged Dangote Refinery workforce. Ibeju-Lekki now concentrates the Lekki Free Trade Zone, the Dangote Industrial Complex, and the Lekki Deep Sea Port, and the land market reflects that density of infrastructure anchors.

The Lagos Rail Mass Transit network continues to shape commuter corridors. The Blue Line, opened in September 2023, now runs between Lagos Marina and interim terminals along its planned 27 kilometre Okokomaiko route. The Red Line, opened in October 2024, runs from Marina toward Agbado along a corridor planned to stretch 37 kilometres when fully completed. LAMATA schedules as of early 2026 show departures roughly every 23 minutes during operating hours on both lines. Stations along these corridors are pulling residential and mixed-use development, particularly in areas like Agbado, Ikeja, and Okokomaiko where land prices had previously lagged.

Eko Atlantic City is now past 80% land reclamation, with residential pricing in the district reportedly averaging 38% to 60% annual growth over the past five years. Corporate migration into the city continues to thicken the buyer base. The 4th Mainland Bridge remains in discussion as a longer-term project, with routing and financing still under review, so its direct impact on 2026 prices is largely anticipatory rather than realised.

5. Developer activity

Estate Intel's current Lagos leaderboard by ongoing project count lists Homework Group, Deluxe Residences, Megamound, Landwey, Mixta Nigeria, Godmade Homes, Grenadines Homes, Arkland Properties, Dave Kubak Construction Limited, and Foreshore Waters Limited. The list is dominated by firms running multi-estate pipelines across Lekki, Ikoyi, and the mainland mid-market.

UPDC, the listed property company, continues to operate as an institutional developer with a mixed portfolio across residential, commercial, retail, and hospitality, with facility management as a recurring revenue line. Mixta Africa (operating locally as Mixta Nigeria) is progressing Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Estate, Beechwood Estate, and Advia Plainfields, representing its core mid- to upper-mid segment plays. Landmark Africa continues to anchor the Victoria Island beachfront with Landmark Beach, Landmark Boulevard, and Landmark Hotel Apartments, though parts of the Landmark footprint have been affected by the coastal road alignment and that story remains unresolved.

Lekki Gardens, Cosgrove Real Estate, Periwinkle Residences, First Investment Nigeria, Eko Development Company, Cappa & D'Alberto, and Chaplin Homes each maintain active residential pipelines, with product mixes ranging from mid-market terraces to serviced luxury apartments. Contractor activity this quarter shows Cappa & D'Alberto continuing as one of the primary main-contractor names on Lagos residential towers, alongside several East Asian and regional construction firms running design-build mandates in Eko Atlantic.

The week's clearest developer-level event was the Veritasi-COOPLAG sod turn at Oyster Towers, which adds a cooperative-capital angle to the Eko Atlantic stack and illustrates how developers are sourcing patient equity against a high-rate borrowing environment. For foreign and diaspora buyers weighing off-plan commitments, the developer due diligence conversation is increasingly about balance sheet depth, completed unit count, and arbitration history, not marketing materials.

Closing

This week's picture is a market maturing in real time. Supply-side delivery is happening, but it is concentrated in projects backed by sponsors with balance sheets, documented title chains, and public delivery records. Cross-border buyers face a meaningfully changed tax regime from January 1, 2026, and the Land Use Act's consent and perfection steps remain where most private deals break. Infrastructure continues to redraw value along the coastal highway, the Lekki-Epe expansion, and the Blue and Red metro lines, but infrastructure alone is no longer enough to underwrite a purchase. Readers doing research can verify a sponsor's filings, completed project count, and title status against a legit real estate developer history before committing capital, which is the core of what Bektu's transparency platform is built to support.

Sources

- Businessday Nigeria, "More investment interest in Eko Atlantic as developer turns sod for 22-floor tower," April 2026

- P.M. News Nigeria, "How I delivered Spyro's luxury Lekki duplex deal - Ogbu Ikenna," April 23, 2026

- Megastar Magazine, "Property Surge: Lagos, Abuja Corridors Emerge as Top Real Estate Investment Hotspots," April 7, 2026

- Nigeria Housing Market, "Lagos State Government Unveils Plan to Build Over 14,000 New Homes by 2026," 2026

- Nigeria Housing Market, "Lagos State Targets Three Million Unit Housing Deficit with 2026 Project Expansion," 2026

- Estate Intel, "Top 10 Developers in Lagos Based on Ongoing Projects," 2026

- Estate Intel, "Why Real Estate Investors should pay attention to the Lagos Red line and Blue line Railway Completion," 2026

- The Africanvestor, "Property Foreign Ownership Nigeria (January 2026)"

- The Africanvestor, "Property Price Forecasts Lagos (2026)"

- The Africanvestor, "Property Taxes, Fees and Costs in Nigeria (2026)"

- Pavestones Legal, "The New Capital Gains Tax in Nigeria: Key Considerations for Foreign Investors," 2026

- EY Global, "Nigeria Tax Act, 2025 has been signed - highlights," 2026

- Dirichi Properties, "Lagos Property Market Report 2026"

- BPA Property, "Lagos Property Market Update March 2026"

- Nairametrics, "Top 7 Residential Developments in Eko Atlantic," February 18, 2026

- Affable Homes, "How Dangote Petroleum Refinery Brought Development to Epe and Ibeju-Lekki," 2026

- Property Access, "Lagos Reaffirms Waterfront Infrastructure Strategy," 2026