REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS AND PROPERTY-MARKET FINANCIALISATION IN NIGERIA: EVIDENCE FROM UPDC REIT

Abstract

Portfolio size and investor returns alone do not establish the developmental contribution of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). That contribution must also be judged against tangible property-market outcomes, including supply, occupancy, income generation and professional management. Using UPDC REIT as its case, the study examines the developmental role of REITs in Nigeria's property market within the wider debate on property-market financialisation. Using a descriptive secondary-data design, the study applies trend analysis, percentage change and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to UPDC REIT's audited financial and property indicators for 2020–2024, and draws on established Nigerian empirical literature on REIT performance, financial structure, development finance and macroeconomic sensitivity. Investment property rose from ₦26.522 billion in 2020 to ₦27.241 billion in 2024 (CAGR of 0.67%), while total assets and net assets grew at CAGRs of 1.08% and 1.28% respectively; rental income, however, declined by 8.36% over the same period (CAGR of −2.16%), even as occupancy improved from 83% in 2023 to 96% in 2024. The divergence indicates that asset growth has occurred substantially through the financial deepening of an existing portfolio rather than through a matching expansion in income-generating capacity — a distinction that is central to separating REIT financialisation from genuine property-market development. Nigerian REITs therefore possess meaningful, though not yet fully realised, capacity to support property-market development. This capacity is conditioned by development-oriented portfolio allocation, regulatory support, market depth and professional estate-management practice.