Crown Estate land prices grew from N300k per plot to N60M in 24years
How Castles Lifestyle Publisher sold his plot in 1999 to start this magazine!
Our interviewee this week, is no other than our very own, Managing Director of Realhouse Communications and Publisher of Castles Lifestyle magazine, ‘Dipo Davies. ‘Dipo is a lawyer by training and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1990, but is a publisher by trade. He has been involved in many property transactions from the legal side and his first contact with construction was when he helped his father project manage the building of their family home in Gbagada in 1989. His interest in real estate was stoked by his lifetime experiences
What led you to the property business?
I am a lawyer by training. My first job was with a consultancy firm, Pricewater House Coopers then I moved to Churchgate Group. In Churchgate, I worked in their legal department and one of our responsibilities was buying and renting properties for the company and staff. As a matter of fact, Churchgate Tower, a prestigious office tower on Afribank Street, Victoria Island, was built during my employment with the organization. I then moved to Stabilini Visinoni, a firm of building contractors. Here, apart from the legal side, I have also superintended the Personnel and Administration department as well as being Special Adviser to the Chief Executive. These experiences opened my eyes to the profits and practice of real estate.
What was your first experience selling or buying property?
I cannot exactly recall my first transaction however there is a particular transaction that happened a while back that is really memorable for me, and I think Castles readers will equally find it interesting as well. This is because it was the seed money from the sale I used to start Realhouse Communications, publishers of Castles Lifestyle and Highbrow Living magazines.
I had done some advisory work for Crown Realtors, the developers of Crown Estate and I was given a 600sqm plot in the new estate as part of my fees. Crown Estate is a gated estate in the Sangotedo axis of Lekki in Lagos State.
My intention then was to develop the land, but with the dream of starting a real estate information magazine, I had to sell. I got N300,000 for the 600 sqm plot of land. This was in 1998/1999.
What is the location like now compared to 1998?
From the point of view of Crown Estate, the property market is quite developed in terms of the number of completed developments and infrastructure. When I got the plot, there were no roads, no gate or fence and definitely no buildings. Today, the estate is fully functioning with tarred roads, potable water, and electricity.
In 1999 you could drive to Crown Estate from Lekki Phase 1 possibly in less than 10 minutes. The only other estate you would have seen would probably be Victoria Garden City, which was also just coming up at the time, and the Chevron office Head Quarters. Nearly everything was virgin land. Crown Estate developers, led by Darl Uzu, an Estate Surveyor and Valuer, could be seen as pioneers in terms of foresight. There were no shopping malls, very few filling stations, just a large expanse of virgin land.
Today, the driving time from Lekki Phase 1 to Crown Estate, is anything from one hour or more depending on the time of day. Both to the left and right of the expressway are developments of both residential estates and commercial developments. Close to Crown Estate is one of the Shoprite Malls and the axis of Sangotedo has become one of the very popular locations with different types of developments.
What will be the price of a 600 sqm plot in Crown Estate today?
It will be a challenge answering that question because there are virtually no empty plots in Crown Estate today. What is available on the market are semi-detached houses, usually on 300 sqm half plots and these go for between N60m – N65m while those on the full plots go for as high as N130m. Extrapolating, the 600 sqm plot will probably go for as high as N60m simply because there are no plots available! So in 24 years, the price has moved from N300,000 to N60,000,000, a capital gain of N59,700,000!
Any regrets?
Like many others who have sold their property, I have experienced seller’s remorse! But when I look at where Castles Lifestyle magazine is today, I have to admit that the reward far outweighs any regrets. It is pure greed to assume you can keep everything in life. Be content with your decisions as most times, you cannot undo them.
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