The level of maintenance and the condition of public housing has been a significant concern for tenants and housing researchers alike. The state of public housing is often a reflection of its local authority managers and the policy that surrounds it. This paper assesses the performance of local authorities in the management of public housing in Ghana. Data was collected through interviews with local authority housing officers and tenants as well as a small sample survey of tenants. The performance of the authorities mentioned above was measured by three factors; adequacy (house types and quantity), decency (maintenance and satisfaction with maintenance), and affordability (rent levels). The paper concludes that the current state of Ghanaian public housing, when measured against its mandate to provide adequate, decent and affordable housing to beneficiary government workers is substandard due to underperforming local authorities (LAs). The paper suggests that rent policy should be reviewed to empower LAs to self-determine and collect rent. Rents in the public housing sector should be reviewed to realistic levels so that they may generate funds for maintenance. Housing policy should institute internal and external mechanisms to monitor the performance of LAs in the management of public housing.

Since the establishment of the first South African Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) in 2013, the listed property sector has seen significant growth with a current market capitalisation of R400 billion in comparison to 1998 where the market capitalisation was R5 billion. However, South African REITs invest less in the residential sector when compared to the global REIT market. The purpose of this research was to determine the factors that have attributed to this low uptake of residential stock. This was achieved using a qualitative survey consisting of semi-structured interviews with listed property fund managers and upper management from four REITs listed on the South African stock exchange. The findings indicated a number of factors that have influenced the low uptake of residential stock. These have been identified as the financial performance of residential real estate in South Africa, the nature of residential real estate, and the maturity of the REITs sector in South Africa. These findings make a valuable contribution to the very limited literature on REITs in South Africa. Furthermore, understanding these factors is crucial in further developing the REITs sector in South Africa which has the potential to catalyse broader developments for housing and the economy.

Just as curriculums and teaching styles vary, the experiences of students are varied and complex. This study aims to understand how students rate the undergraduate programmes at the Department of Land Economy (DoLE) within the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Kumasi, Ghana. It studies the quality of education received alongside the expectations of students. To assess these variables, this study adopts and modifies the Student Engagement Questionnaire (SEQ) developed by Kember and Leung (2009). As part of this methodology, 312 students in their third and final year of DoLE’s BSc in Land Economy and BSc in Real Estate participated in this assessment. Their responses were measured using a five-point Likert scale which consisted of 18 different scales. The scales were checked for reliability using Cronbach alpha values. Using this methodology, the study was able to conclude that more than 50% of respondents agreed that the quality of the programme met their expectations. Furthermore, students generally realised an improvement of their critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities. In contrast to this, students also emphasised a lack of feedback and an overwhelmed system of educational resources. It is worth noting that the SEQ, as a diagnostic tool, should be treated as being indicative, rather than absolute. Therefore, this study looks at the state of education from a Ghanaian student perspective. It highlights where there is room for improvement and ways in which future research can look at this issue from a broader industry standpoint. Education and learning must continuously evolve to meet the needs of students and be reflective of the times.

Nigeria’s land registration programmes are beset with challenges. The linkage between land, the government and the people create a complex system with unique obstacles. This research investigates the challenges of land registration in Nigeria with an in-depth study of Kaduna State. The objective is to ascertain the frequency of land registration and the factors that stand as challenges to it from the perspectives of households, consultants in land transactions, and the Kaduna Geographic Information System (KADGIS). The results indicate a low level of land registration in which challenges include ignorance, affordability problems, inefficient registration processes, corruption, and inadequate skilled workforce with the human capital to implement the programmes. The research has implications for both land and housing markets in Nigeria and throughout Africa.

The relaunch of the Journal of African Real Estate Research (JARER) provides an exciting new platform for the dissemination of scholarship engaged with the real estate sector in Africa. A central objective of the journal will be to convey the characteristics that define real estate markets in Africa as well as the diversity that exists within these markets. The relaunch and long-term success of JARER also reflects a long-standing objective of the African Real Estate Society – to promote research and education among property professionals across the continent..

The study of real estate in Africa offers a unique opportunity to develop a research agenda and body of knowledge that is different from those developed in more mature markets. An African-focussed real estate research agenda will need to deal with markets that are characterised by rapidly growing cities, a shortage of affordable residential and commercial space, and markets that function with relatively poor information flows. Real estate markets across the continent also reflect country-specific, historical and institutional arrangements resulting in unique market outcomes.

JARER will support the development of research methodologies and theoretical perspectives that are able to provide a new insights and a deeper understanding of market realities and the different avenues that exist for the sector to play a responsible role in promoting economic development and the delivery of broader socio-economic objectives.

A further important goal of JARER will be to provide valuable resources that support academic, as well as professional researchers across the continent. In achieving this goal, the journal will play an active role in promoting inquiry into topical themes including research that is focussed on the development of real estate academic programmes in Africa.

It is heartening to see the number of articles that the journal has attracted in a relatively short period of time, as well as the number of reviewers that have offered to actively participate in the journal. To ensure wide readership, the decision has been taken to make the JARER available as open access via an electronic platform hosted by the University of Cape Town.

This relaunch issue has the good fortune of showcasing a number of quality publications received from across the continent. Additionally, these papers have made valuable contributions to existing knowledge on critically important topics relating to real estate in Africa. These topics include: the role and use of technology in real estate practice, assessing real estate education at African institutions, the management of risk in real estate development in Africa, managing public housing in Ghana, Real Estate Investment Trusts and residential property in South Africa, and the challenges of land registration in Nigeria.

The standard and quality of these articles highlights the excellence that already exists across the continent and shows signs of great things to come for real estate research in Africa.

The relaunch of JARER was made possible by the support of board members of the African Real Estate Society, the library services at the University of Cape Town, and Journal Manager, Luke Boyle from the Urban Real Estate Research, who has worked tirelessly in coordinating this process. Additionally, I would like to extend my gratitude to Professor Karl-Werner Schulte, and the International Real Estate Business School, who have played a consistent and invaluable role in supporting the activities of JARER over the years.

I am confident that the JARER will, in the years to come, grow from strength to strength and fill an important gap in global real estate literature.

Felician Komu
Editor-in-Chief
 

Real estate is an intensive business that largely depends on information. Information technology has become a major form of communication in the real estate industry, a tool for marketing and information dispersion. As a result, diverse factors influence the use of information and communication technology (ICT). This study is aimed at investigating the factors influencing the use of ICTs in Nigerian real estate practices. Lagos state, the area of study, was delineated according to a central business district locational pattern to ascertain where the firms of real estate were grouped. Out of the 172 questionnaires that were conveniently administered to real estate firms within the study location, only 143 (83.14%) were retrieved and considered valid for the analysis. The collected data was then analysed using a factor analytical test. Findings revealed that technological infrastructure, service delivery efficiency enhancement, and productivity branding influenced the deployment of ICTs in Lagos’ real estate industry. It was recommended that practitioners and real estate firms need to adopt emerging concepts and technological advancement in their quest for survival both locally and internationally. This will enhance their competitiveness and ensure that better value is provided.

Despite the wide adoption of the Hedonic Pricing Model (HPM) approach in property valuation in the real estate domain, a large number of studies conducted by real estate scholars, have tended to focus on the ‘explanatory’ rather than the ‘predictive’ ability of the technique. Given this industry focus, and thus the lack of information on the predictive nature of HPM, the present study sets out to investigate the predictive accuracy of HPM in property valuation. Data on sales transaction of residential properties were collected from registered property firms practising in the Lagos metropolis property market, in Nigeria. The collected data were divided into two categories - the training set which was fitted to the HPM developed, and the testing dataset which was used for the model validation. Accuracy metrics were used to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the HPM developed. The analysis shows that the HPM approach produced inaccurate predicted property values in terms of a high mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean absolute error (MAE) and root means square error (RMSE) which may not be acceptable by rational real estate investors. Also, about 60% of the predicted property values produced an inaccuracy that is ± 20% of the actual values, while only 26% yielded an error of margin which is within the industry acceptable margin of between ± 0 and 10%. The HPM could not be entirely relied on to produce accurate property valuation estimates. Therefore, further studies are needed to be carried out to identify more reliable and robust property valuation approaches that can produce values that would be acceptable to all property valuation stakeholders.

This paper provides an in-depth examination of various concepts related to the forms and sources of uncertainty, as well as the management of uncertainty in real estate development (RED). The study also examines factors influencing the adoption of Real Option Analysis (ROA) in RED given the need to improve the knowledge of stakeholders in RED appraisal, and to ensure best practices. Based on desktop analysis of past authors’ perspectives, orientations and submissions regarding the management of uncertainty in RED appraisal, the findings reveal that while there are varying forms and sources of uncertainty in RED appraisals, there are also diverse methods used to manage the uncertainty of it. It is, however, noted that the methods employed are dependent on RED appraisers and other institutional factors. The consensus from previous studies favours ROA in managing uncertainty in RED. This paper adds to the debate for the need to embrace ROA in managing the effects of uncertainty in RED appraisal.

The increase in globalisation has changed marketing strategies available to professionals within the built environment. This study investigated the marketing methods most used in Lagos’ metropolis. It assessed the extent to which estate surveyors and valuers in Nigeria have adopted property-based websites for the marketing of their real estate services. A random sampling method was used to obtain data from 82 estate surveyors and valuers within Lagos’ metropolis. The data were analysed with SPSS V24 (statistical software), using Friedman’s Test and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The study concluded that conventional/traditional methods of marketing dominate the marketing activities of estate surveyors and valuers, weakening agency practice in Nigeria in relation to the current global context.