ABSTRACT. The study compared the level of valuation variance and inaccuracy between Nigeria and UK. In order to achieve the aim for the study, a survey method was employed using questionnaire administered on respondent estate surveyors and valuers in Calabar and Uyo metropolises. The study surveyed valuers opinions on the existence of valuation variance and inaccuracy, the possible causes and the margin of valuation error and data collected through questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics to find the mean score, standard deviation and percentages. The findings from the study show that valuation variance and inaccuracy is high in Nigeria as compared to UK. The possible causes include lack of standards, lack of market data/comparables, lack of regulatory framework, methods/bases of valuation adopted, client's influence, inadequate training of valuers, imperfect knowledge of the property market, wrong assumptions on cost per square metre, lack of professional experience as well as failure to discipline valuers on cases of negligence with lack of standards ranked first with the highest frequency and mean score. The study concluded by recommending the creation of a central property database, adopting/enforcement of international valuation standards, enforcement of disciplinary measures for erring members on negligence and a defined acceptable margin of valuation error.

ABSTRACT. Housing is one of the most important needs of individuals next to food and clothing. Housing needs for low income earners has reached an alarming stage in Nigeria. On the supply side, numerous government policies have earlier aimed at disabling the massive shortage through numerous housing reform programmes. Despite these preceding efforts, housing remains an illusion to an average Nigerian. This research assessed the effect of government policy on housing delivery in Nigeria. The objectives were to determine housing needs of the low income group in Nigeria and to determine the impact of government policies on affordable housing provision to the low income group. Survey method was used to collect data from 44 respondents through the administration of questionnaires which was analyzed with statistical tools. The findings from the study shows that insufficient fund is closely related to other finance related factors identified as barriers to the accessibility of public housing by the low income group who are non-public servants. Such factors as high interest rate, low per capita income, lack of security of income, lack of collateral and high cost of public houses. The study suggest the creation of a viable secondary mortgage market, improvement of land registration and allocation, compassionate urban renewal programmes, cost saving house designs amongst others.

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The study measures the risk-return performance of residential and commercial real estate investments in South-South, Nigeria from 2009 to 2018. The study adopted the survey research design and purposive sampling technique was used to select estate surveying and valuation firms. Data was analysed using mean total returns, standard deviation and analysis of variance. The test of the first hypothesis indicates that residential real estate investment in Port Harcourt has the highest mean total return and performed better than Calabar and Uyo and implies that total returns of residential real estate investments are significantly different in the study area. For commercial property, Uyo outperformed that of Calabar and Port Harcourt in terms of return. The second hypothesis results indicate that location of property is a significant determinant of risk. The result shows that the mean risk in Port Harcourt for residential real estate investment is significantly different from the risk in Calabar and Uyo. This implies that there is significant difference between risks of residential properties in the study area. For commercial property investment risk, the result shows the risks of investment in offices are higher than shops. For location, Uyo commercial properties produced the highest risk.

Real estate markets are not centrally organized but are organized by existing market outlets where interests, rights, etcetera, in real estates are sold, bought or leased. Major players within the markets are investors, lessees, financiers, buyers and sellers. The markets may be local, national or international, specializing in different types of property. The market possesses special characteristics which make its operations uniquely different from the conventional commodity markets. Success in any investment venture require prior research into the intended business arena to discover the strength of demand, number of suppliers, the goods or services needed and their quality, the market segments and the supply gaps. Most real estate investors, globally, fail to undertake market research to discover the market segments they intend to serve before venturing into them. They employ human intuition for investment decisions. Often these result in entering saturated markets thereby loosing huge investment funds and truncating overall economic development in the process. Prudent economic principles for investment are to discover unexplored or underexplored markets and to design appropriate products and services for economically empowered consumers for good economic returns. This paper examines appropriate real estate market researches that need to be undertaken prior to investment decisions and execution thereof. Survey approach was used to find out how the property investors approach the market research before embarking on developmental investments and the investment outcomes. The place of study encompasses major cities in Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Abia states of Nigeria.