Lagos retains grip as Nigeria’s luxury housing capital

Lagos has retained its crown as Nigeria’s luxury property hub, with Eko Atlantic, Old Ikoyi, Banana Island, and Victoria Island topping the country’s most expensive residential locations.

A new report by Diya Fatimilehin & Co, titled Nigerian Residential Market Review 2025, revealed that the commercial capital continues to dictate housing costs, while neighbouring Ogun and Oyo States are emerging as viable options for investors and homebuyers.

The report stated: “Lagos remains the epicentre of Nigeria’s real estate market, with Eko Atlantic, Old Ikoyi, Banana Island, and Victoria Island sustaining their status as the country’s most expensive places to live."

"In Ikoyi, for example, a four-bedroom flat now commands a sale price of around N1.5bn. Beyond Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states are emerging as attractive alternatives, leveraging proximity to Lagos, lower entry costs, and available land for development."

"Areas such as Alalubosa and Iyaganku GRAs in Ibadan, and Laderin Estate and Olusegun Osoba Hilltop in Abeokuta, demonstrate this trend, with annual rentals for a house reaching N3m.”

According to the report, major infrastructure projects are fuelling this shift. 

These include the Lagos Blue and Red Line Metro Rails, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Oke-Fia flyover in Osun, the 110km Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road in Oyo, and the Ondo section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. Still to come are the Fourth Mainland Bridge, the Green Line Metro, and the Lekki International Airport.

The review traced Nigeria’s urban housing story to rapid post-independence urbanisation. 

It noted: “For decades, rapid urbanisation has transformed Nigeria’s residential market, as millions migrate from rural hinterlands to thriving urban centres. Following independence in 1960, Lagos grappled with the massive influx of migrants, Port Harcourt swelled under the weight of the oil boom, and Abuja heralded a new wave of construction activities upon its designation as the Federal Capital Territory."

"However, beneath the surface of these teeming Tier-1 markets, a quiet transformation is underway. Structural shifts, including subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, tax reforms, improved regional road networks, and large-scale agricultural mechanisation, are gradually opening up new investment frontiers and extending housing demand into emerging cities.”

The North-West is also showing signs of growth, despite insecurity. The report noted that cities such as Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, and Katsina are set to drive housing demand through industrial and agricultural expansion. 

It pointed to major works such as the N6.4bn Gwaram Basirka Bridge, 21 mini-grid projects in Jigawa, and Kaduna’s Millennium City.

In the South-South, oil wealth is blending with infrastructure renewal to reshape cities like Uyo, Asaba, and Port Harcourt. Notable projects include the East-West Road in Rivers, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in Cross River, and a new 169-room Radisson Hotel in Benin City.

Despite the challenges of insecurity and economic volatility, the report concluded that housing demand remains strong across Nigeria, with Lagos retaining its grip on luxury while emerging cities open new frontiers.