SOURCE:

Faculty: Environmental Sciences
Department: Estate Management

CONTRIBUTORS:

Efobi, D.J;
Emoh,F.I;
Nwachukwu, C.C;

ABSTRACT:

The study analyzed the housing deficit in South East, Nigeria with a view to finding the extent to which housing delivery by housing providers met the housing needs of the low income earners in South East, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the extent to which housing delivery by housing providers met the housing needs of the low income earners in South East, Nigeria, identify the causes of the shortfall in the housing market in South East, Nigeria. The study adopted the survey design and obtained data from primary and secondary sources. The population of the study was 910,333 low income households and real estate professionals in the study area. A sample size of 424 was obtained with Cochran formula. The research instrument was a Likert weighing scale structured questionnaire. Validity of the instrument was measured using content validity by giving it to research experts in the field of social and hospitality sciences. The internal consistency of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach Alpha Coefficient. The result was 0.915, indicating a high reliability of the instrument. The hypothesis were tested using Leven’s T-Test for Hypothesis 1, Structural Equation modeling for Hypothesis 2, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test for Hypothesis 3, at 5% probability level of significance. The findings indicated that: housing provision by housing providers has not met the housing needs of the low income earners in South East, Nigeria (t = 41.321; p < 0.05), housing affordability issues represented the major cause of shortfall in the housing ,market in South East, Nigeria (cr = 2.563, P<0.05), existing housing policies in Nigeria had not addressed the housing deficit in South East, Nigeria (Z=.6443; P<.005), the challenges of housing policy implementation were poor budgeting (4.53), misdirected focus (3.68), weak administrative structure (3.90), high rent-income-ration (3.51), and lack of continuity in public administration (3.84). The study therefore concluded that the deficit in housing delivery in South East, Nigeria was as a result of inadequate low cost housing amidst poor implementation of policies that enhance housing affordability in the area. The study recommended that housing providers should benchmark successful housing industries in a bid to homogenize and coverage innovation strategies and effective communication processes that create value for the target population.