Why an apartment building?
This question is more important than it sounds.
Many people buy real estate because others are doing it.
But when you want to invest in an apartment building, you are no longer playing at the level of owning a flat or duplex for your family.
You are now crossing into the territory of commercial real estate.
And that comes with new rules.
Owning an apartment building means you’re entering a business model where your tenants fund your investment returns.
You’re not just looking for a roof over your head, you’re looking to build monthly cash flow and long-term capital appreciation.
For example, in 2024, the Nigerian real estate market recorded over ₦800 billion in private residential property transactions.
Yet only 11% of that came from apartment buildings sold for investment purposes.
Why?
Because most people don’t understand how to get in.
They think it’s all about buying land and building flats, or waiting for off-plan deals.
But there’s a whole investment strategy around buying already-built apartment buildings and turning them into revenue-generating assets.
Start with access to capital
The idea that you need to have all the money to buy a building is outdated.
In a market where building prices range from ₦85 million for smaller multi-family units in emerging cities like Ibadan to over ₦1.2 billion for prime blocks in Ikoyi, most investors use creative financing.
You might not hear it on social media, but many buyers structure deals with partners, cooperatives, or private lenders.
Some even take loans from development banks or private equity groups focused on rental housing.
One Lagos-based investor, for instance, used a ₦100 million cooperative loan to buy a five-unit building in Magodo.
He negotiated a 30% down payment with the seller and financed the balance over two years.
The rents from tenants now pay off the loan monthly while giving him a net monthly income of ₦600,000.
You must first define your investment goal
Are you looking for long-term rental income, short-term Airbnb yields, or future resale value?
These options will guide where you buy, what kind of building suits you, and the class of tenants you want.
A building in Asokoro with diplomatic tenants behaves differently from one in Agbara rented by factory workers.
One delivers prestige and stability, the other gives high turnover and fast cash flow.
Both are profitable, but only if you match your goals to the right asset.
Location
Every city has hot zones, emerging corridors, and declining districts. Your job is to know which is which.
Don’t just listen to what agents say. Visit the neighborhood.
Know how much rent is paid, what security is like, how bad flooding gets, and whether the area is getting infrastructure upgrades.
Remember, you’re not buying just a building, you’re buying a lifestyle people are willing to pay for.
A 2023 housing trend report by Urban Metrics Nigeria showed that apartment buildings located within 3km of a major expressway in Lagos rent out 2.4 times faster than those located beyond 5km.
Tenants value accessibility more than you think.
In Abuja, apartments within 10 minutes of government offices command 15% higher rents than those just 20 minutes away.
Understanding income potential
Before you buy any apartment building, you must calculate what is called the gross rental yield.
In Nigeria, a good building in the right location can fetch between 7% and 12% gross annual yield.
Anything above that is exceptional, especially in stable neighborhoods.
But you don’t just rely on rent figures thrown at you by sellers.
Let’s say you’re buying a building with 8 units, each renting at ₦500,000 per year. That’s ₦4 million in gross income.
If the building costs ₦40 million, you’re looking at a 10% gross yield.
But the key is not just the gross yield, it’s what remains after expenses.
You must factor in vacancy rates, repairs, agency commissions, water system maintenance, generator servicing, and even legal fees.
That’s how you calculate the net yield, and that’s where many investors lose money.
How do you find a building to buy?
The best apartment buildings hardly get advertised.
They are passed through agents with connections, lawyers with inside deals, or family members offloading assets.
You must build a network of trusted real estate professionals in your city of choice.
Engage directly with agents and let them know what you’re looking for.
Always conduct your due diligence
Nigeria is a land of sweet-mouthed sellers.
You’ll hear that “the property is freehold,” or that “the family has agreed,” but until you see original documents, don’t believe anything.
Get a verified lawyer who specializes in property law to come through the title and make sure the land is not under government acquisition.
Structural inspection is non-negotiable
Just because a building looks fine doesn’t mean it’s solid.
In Nigeria, developers cut corners all the time. Hire a civil engineer to inspect the integrity of the structure.
Let them check for cracks, uneven settlement, weak plumbing systems, and faulty wiring.
A bad building can consume your cash for years through endless repairs. You want to know what you’re walking into before you pay a dime.
When you’re ready to close, negotiate like an investor, not an emotional buyer.
Don’t be shy to offer 15% below the asking price.
Many sellers inflate prices to account for bargaining.
Use every fault or pending repair as negotiation leverage.
If the building has two vacant flats, ask for a rent adjustment.
If the title is only partially perfected, ask for a discount.
Management
Too many investors buy apartment buildings and leave them in the hands of friends or untrained managers.
The result?
Late rents, angry tenants, and declining value.
In 2024, one property management company in Lagos reported that buildings with proactive maintenance had an average vacancy rate of just 6%, compared to 19% in poorly managed ones.
That difference is the thin line between profit and stress.
Scalability
Don’t stop at one building.
Use the cash flow and capital gains from your first investment to enter a second.
For example, start in Ogun State, where land and buildings are cheaper, then scale into Lagos.
Or begin in developing corridors like Apo in Abuja and graduate to Maitama.
The goal is not just to own one building.
It’s to create a portfolio that generates wealth across economic cycles.
You must think like a long-term builder, not a quick flipper.
Real estate in Nigeria is still one of the most resilient investments, despite inflation, FX instability, and policy swings.
Apartment buildings, in particular, offer a rare mix of income and appreciation.
You collect rent every year, and the value of the building grows over time.
That’s a powerful combination in a country with a 17 million housing deficit.
How Many Units Are in an Apartment Building?
The concept of a “unit” in Nigerian real estate is often misunderstood.
A unit refers to a single rentable space occupied by one tenant or family.
That could be a one-bedroom apartment, a two-bedroom flat, or a self-contained studio.
In practical terms, one apartment building can have anything from two units to over fifty. It depends on what you’re building or buying into.
In urban cities like Lagos, an average apartment building on a 500 square metre plot typically contains six to eight residential units.
This setup is common in estates like Ogudu GRA, parts of Yaba, or Surulere.
These units are often evenly divided into two-bedroom or three-bedroom flats, depending on how much rent landlords expect to charge.
Each unit is self-contained, has its own kitchen, bathroom, and usually shares a general staircase and compound.
However, move to places like Abuja or Port Harcourt, where land sizes are larger and the target market more premium, and you start seeing 12-unit, 16-unit, and even 20-unit buildings.
In Maitama, it’s not unusual to find buildings with 24 serviced apartments under one roof, each renting for over ₦5 million per annum.
These buildings are built vertically, not just horizontally, to maximize the use of space and profit.
According to a 2024 real estate market survey by NaijaPropertyData, the average number of units in mid-sized apartment buildings in Lagos was 8.7.
In contrast, Abuja’s average was 11.2, and Port Harcourt came in slightly higher at 13.1.
These figures aren’t just statistical flourishes; they show how geography influences architecture.
Developers in Lagos must contend with high land costs, narrow streets, and tight approvals from Lagos State Physical Planning authorities.
That forces most builders to stick to smaller footprints.
In Abuja, wide land parcels and more accommodating planning authorities allow developers to think big.
But beyond geography, the type of apartment building you’re considering also changes the game.
Let’s talk about the tenement building commonly called “face-me-I-face-you” in Lagos slang.
This structure, historically built to provide mass accommodation for low-income earners, packs a high number of units into limited land.
A single building might contain 20 to 30 single rooms, with tenants sharing bathrooms and kitchens.
It’s not the most luxurious format, but it delivers high rental yields.
You can find such buildings in Mushin, Agege, Bariga, Ajegunle, and many other densely populated suburbs.
In fact, a single plot in Ketu might host a 15-room tenement structure with 2 to 3 families per room.
That means upwards of 45 residents in one building. It’s not ideal for everyone, but from a rental cash flow point of view, it’s a beast.
Switch to luxury duplex-style apartments, and the story changes.
These buildings prioritize space, privacy, and exclusivity.
In many gated estates in Lekki Phase 1 or Asokoro, you’ll find buildings with just 2 to 4 units each occupying an entire floor, complete with private elevators, generators, and smart home integrations.
Each unit could go for ₦200 million or more, depending on the finish and brand value.
The developers are not aiming for volume; they are playing the high-margin game.
The Nigerian real estate industry recognizes this diversity.
And as the demand for housing continues to soar, developers are getting more creative.
In 2023 alone, over 11,500 new apartment units were added to Lagos’ housing inventory, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.
About 28% of these were multi-unit apartment buildings, especially in areas like Ibeju-Lekki, Ajah, and Sangotedo.
But only 5% had more than 15 units. Most hovered between 6 and 10.
That tells you something important: while Nigerian cities are growing, the appetite for medium-density apartment buildings remains the most profitable and manageable model.
Now, let’s consider planning regulations and how they shape the unit count.
Every state in Nigeria has urban planning laws that affect how many units can be built on a given plot.
In Lagos, for instance, the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning Board uses a zoning system that determines what you can build in each zone.
In commercial corridors, you can build high-density apartments with 20+ units if you get approvals and meet parking, setback, and drainage standards.
In residential zones, you may be restricted to 6 to 10 units unless the land size crosses certain thresholds.
That’s why, before any apartment building project begins, developers often meet with town planners and surveyors to determine what’s possible.
A typical developer in Ikate might buy a 600 square metre plot intending to build 10 units, but get approval for only 6 due to parking and drainage limits.
That difference affects the business plan, revenue projections, and financing needs.
So, even if the land is big enough, what ultimately matters is what the government will approve.
Some developers bypass this with shady deals or overbuild without approvals, but it often backfires.
The Lagos State Building Control Agency(LASBCA) demolished over 240 illegal buildings in 2024 alone, many of which had too many units crammed into unsafe structures.
So if you’re investing in or building an apartment, always work within approved parameters.
It’s better to own six legal units than to lose fifteen illegal ones.
The rise of serviced apartments and co-living spaces is another twist in the unit narrative.
As Nigeria’s digital economy grows, more professionals, expatriates, and tech workers are demanding furnished spaces with flexible leasing terms.
Developers are responding by building apartment buildings with 15 to 25 micro-units each, about 25 to 40 square metres.
These units come fully furnished, with WiFi, shared lounges, gyms, and housekeeping.
In places like Victoria Island, Jabi, and even parts of Enugu, these “co-living buildings” are redefining what unit density looks like.
A case study from a property company in Yaba shows that a 4-storey building housing 18 studio units generated 44% more monthly income than a traditional block of 6 three-bedroom flats on a similar land size.
Why?
Because younger renters value lifestyle and convenience over size.
They’re willing to pay ₦350,000 a month for a 40-square metre serviced unit rather than ₦500,000 for a three-bedroom they don’t need.
The developer earns more, the building hosts more units, and the market is happy.
This shift in demand is quietly reshaping real estate math.
What used to be “how many units can I build?” is now “how many profitable units can I manage?”
It’s no longer about stuffing the building.
It’s about maximizing per-unit value while ensuring livability and legality.
But as always, numbers don’t lie.
Let’s use a simulation
A 1000 square metre plot in Gudu, Abuja, can accommodate a 3-storey apartment building with 4 flats per floor. That’s 12 units total.
If each flat rents for ₦1.2 million annually, that’s ₦14.4 million in gross rent.
Now compare that with a 24-unit serviced apartment complex on the same land, each renting for ₦800,000 annually.
That’s ₦19.2 million gross rent, ₦4.8 million more than the traditional structure.
But here’s the catch: the serviced model comes with generator fuel costs, cleaning, staff salaries, and higher tenant turnover.
So profitability isn’t just in several units, it’s in cost control, tenant management, and maintenance efficiency.
Even financing institutions care about unit mix
When applying for real estate project loans from banks or the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, your project’s feasibility will be assessed partly by unit count, unit type, projected rent, and maintenance cost.
Buildings with 6 to 12 units of affordable or middle-income flats are seen as lower risk and more bankable than ultra-luxury 2-unit mansions.
Why?
Because rental demand is stronger at the bottom and middle than at the top.
It’s easier to rent 10 flats at ₦700,000 per year than to find one tenant willing to pay ₦10 million per year.
So, how many units should be in an apartment building?
There’s no single answer, but there is a smart one.
The right number of units depends on your location, land size, budget, target tenant, regulatory approval, and operational plan.
In Mushin, 20 self-contained rooms may make more sense.
In Wuse 2, 8 executive flats with balconies and backup power might win.
In Ibadan, 10 basic 2-bedroom units might deliver steady returns.
And in Lekki, 18 micro-units with shared amenities might outperform them all.
That’s how successful real estate investors think.
They don’t just ask, “How many units can I build?” They ask, “How many units can I fill, manage, and profit from sustainably?”
And in a country where the housing deficit still sits above 17 million units, the opportunities are massive for those who understand the power of smart unit configurations.
Steps Required to Buy an Apartment in Nigeria
Apartment buildings are no longer exclusive to real estate tycoons or multinational developers.
Across Nigeria, a new class of investors is stepping into the game, people who are tired of single-unit rentals and ready to scale into long-term wealth.
Clarity
You must define why you want to buy an apartment building.
That might sound obvious, but clarity gives birth to strategy.
Are you buying for rental income, long-term resale, short-term rentals, or corporate housing?
A buyer hoping to run short-let units in Lekki must approach it differently from someone who wants to build generational rental income in Enugu.
The purpose of the acquisition influences the location, structure type, tenant profile, and even financing route.
In a 2024 housing report by the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors, over 38 percent of apartment building buyers admitted they didn’t have a clear investment plan before purchase.
And more than half of those said they wished they had asked more questions about the location or target market. That mistake can be expensive.
Financial position
You don’t need to be a millionaire in naira or dollars to buy an apartment building, but you do need a strategy.
Can you afford to buy with cash, or will you use a mortgage?
Will you partner with co-investors or use a real estate financing firm?
In Nigeria today, only about 12 percent of apartment buildings are purchased outright with full cash.
The rest are bought through structured financing—some legal, some informal.
The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, in its 2023 report, revealed that less than 10 percent of Nigerians can afford homes without financial assistance.
So, unless you have eight to nine figures sitting idly in your account, your focus should be on building a finance strategy early.
That includes your equity contribution, interest rates, collateral demands, and repayment structure.
Choose your location
Not all apartment buildings are created equal, and not all locations are profitable.
Just because a building is beautiful doesn’t mean it’s bankable. Some areas suffer from low tenant demand, unreliable infrastructure, high crime, or regulatory bottlenecks.
Other locations offer tenant waiting lists, capital appreciation, and friendly planning permissions.
According to the Nigerian Real Estate Market Outlook 2025, buildings in areas like Lekki Phase 1, Wuse 2, Gwarinpa, Asokoro, and Trans Amadi yielded rental returns of 12 to 18 percent annually.
Compare that with some parts of Ogun State and Kogi, where the average annual return was under 5 percent.
That’s the difference location makes. Your job is to study the location like your business depends on it, because it does.
Physical inspection
A building may look fine on the outside, but hide foundational or structural problems.
Some may even be half-tenanted because of terrible management or unresolved issues.
According to the Nigerian Society of Engineers, over 1,200 buildings collapsed between 2013 and 2023 due to poor maintenance and foundational neglect.
You must never skip this step, especially if you’re buying a building constructed more than five years ago.
After physical inspection, legal inspection begins. Here, you must involve a property lawyer.
The building must have verifiable title documents.
That could be a Certificate of Occupancy(C of O), Governor’s Consent, Registered Deed of Assignment, or even a Gazette if it was excised land.
The lawyer searches the land registry to confirm that the seller is the true owner, the building is not under dispute, and the title is clean.
Many buyers have lost entire buildings because they trusted the word of agents and sellers without conducting legal due diligence.
In 2024, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice flagged over 800 ongoing property litigation cases involving buildings sold without proper verification.
Your lawyer will also check for encumbrances like government acquisition, mortgages, or court orders.
Once the property is verified legally and physically, you enter the negotiation phase.
Just because a building is listed at ₦200 million doesn’t mean it must be bought at that price.
Most sellers already include negotiation margins.
In the Nigerian market, prices can drop by as much as 10 to 20 percent during serious negotiation, especially if the seller is under financial pressure or the building has been on the market for a long time.
A good estate agent will assist with current valuation data, so you don’t overpay.
You’ll also need to clarify what’s included in the deal: existing tenants, furniture, generators, water tanks, or pending utility bills.
The goal of negotiation isn’t just to reduce price; it’s to clarify terms and secure maximum value.
After the price is agreed, you prepare and sign the purchase agreement.
This is a legal document that details the terms of the sale, including payment structure, possession date, default clauses, and indemnity warranties.
Your lawyer must prepare or vet this document thoroughly.
A good agreement protects you in court if any party defaults.
Once signed, initial payments are made, often 10 to 30 percent as a deposit, followed by the balance within an agreed timeline.
Upon full payment, title transfer begins.
This is when the seller signs the Deed of Assignment, transferring ownership of the property to you.
The Deed must be stamped at the State Internal Revenue Service and lodged at the Land Registry for consent and registration.
The entire process can take weeks to months, depending on the state.
In Lagos, processing a Governor’s Consent currently takes an average of three to six months.
Without this consent, even a paid-for building cannot be legally registered in your name.
Title transfer is not optional; it is the only way to prove full legal ownership.
Many new buyers ignore this step and end up with “shadow ownership” without legal backing.
If your purchase includes tenants, then the next phase is tenant transition.
This step must be handled with sensitivity.
You must issue an official notice informing them of the ownership change and future expectations.
Some tenants may have unpaid rent, damaged facilities, or existing tenancy agreements.
You can’t evict arbitrarily.
Nigerian tenancy law, especially in Lagos, is clear on notice periods and landlord responsibilities.
Ensure you have a competent property manager or facility consultant to help you restructure leases, set up rent collection systems, and resolve legacy disputes.
Smooth tenant management is the foundation of your rental income.
If you get it wrong, it affects everything from cash flow to reputation.
Renovation and compliance phase
Many apartment buildings for sale in Nigeria are not in perfect condition.
You might need to fix plumbing, repaint walls, replace broken tiles, upgrade water systems, or even repair structural flaws.
A post-purchase audit by a building engineer is recommended.
You should also check compliance with fire safety, ventilation, parking, and power requirements.
In gated estates or highbrow districts, estate associations might have rules on generators, noise, tenant types, or parking limits.
Violating these rules can trigger fines or conflict.
Cash flow setup
Whether your building has 4 units or 40, you need a clear system for income collection, expense management, and maintenance.
Many first-time buyers lose control of their buildings because they try to self-manage.
Set up service charges, escrow accounts, tenant service lines, and maintenance schedules.
If you’re running short-lets, you’ll need online booking systems, guest tracking, staff management, and utility audits.
How Much Do I Need to Build an Apartment Building in Nigeria?
In Nigeria, land prices vary so wildly that two identical plots in different cities can differ by 500 percent.
A plot of land that costs ₦3 million in a suburb in Akwa Ibom could cost ₦50 million in Gwarinpa or Lekki Phase 1.
According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, as of Q1 2025, average land prices for high-demand urban locations in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt ranged between ₦65,000 to ₦200,000 per square metre.
For a standard apartment building that sits on 600 square metres, you could be looking at anything from ₦39 million to ₦120 million just for the land, depending on the area.
Once you secure the land, the real journey begins.
The structural cost of the apartment building depends on how many units you want, the layout, the height, and whether you’re going for a basic, standard, or luxury finish.
A 4-unit block of 2-bedroom flats on one floor is not in the same category as an 8-unit luxury duplex-style apartment with rooftop gardens.
In Nigeria’s current construction market, building a single 2-bedroom apartment unit with standard finishing now ranges between ₦15 million to ₦25 million, depending on location, inflation, and the cost of materials.
Multiply that by the number of units and factor in shared facilities like staircases, corridors, septic tanks, security posts, and fences, and the cost begins to climb.
So, a 6-unit apartment building in Lagos, with each flat costing ₦20 million to construct, will gulp nothing less than ₦120 million in structural cost alone.
But that’s still a partial picture. You must also factor in foundation type because Nigerian soil varies.
In some parts of Lagos, like Lekki or Ajah, you may need raft or pile foundations due to waterlogged or soft earth.
That alone can increase your foundation cost by over 60 percent.
In 2024, a developer in Sangotedo revealed that their 3-floor apartment building foundation consumed ₦28 million because piling was necessary.
Compare that with a developer in Asaba who used ₦6 million for a strip foundation for the same structure type.
After foundation, you move to blockwork, concrete, roofing, doors, windows, plastering, electricals, plumbing, painting, and finishing. And that’s where price variations hit hard.
The cost of cement, reinforcement, sand, tiles, cables, switches, paint, and other materials fluctuates almost monthly.
As of May 2025, the price of cement averaged ₦8,500 per bag, up from ₦5,000 just two years ago.
Iron rods now cost about ₦780,000 per tonne.
Tiles range from ₦3,000 to ₦15,000 per square metre, depending on whether you’re going for Chinese, Spanish, or Nigerian products.
The finishing stage can easily consume 30 to 40 percent of your total project cost, especially if you’re building for middle to upper-income tenants.
Beyond construction materials, labour plays a huge role.
And in Nigeria, skilled artisans don’t come cheap anymore.
Bricklayers, carpenters, electricians, painters, plumbers, they are in demand, and their charges reflect it.
In a recent real estate survey conducted across Abuja and Lagos, labour now accounts for an average of 25 to 30 percent of total building costs.
If your 8-unit apartment block will cost ₦160 million in materials, prepare to spend another ₦40 million on labour.
That’s assuming your project runs smoothly, without inflation-induced delays or site shutdowns due to payment issues.
Of course, no apartment building can legally exist without approvals.
Building plan approval in Lagos, for example, ranges between ₦500,000 to ₦5 million, depending on the size of the building, the location, and the stage at which you apply.
That includes architectural vetting, structural drawings, environmental impact assessment, and fire service clearance.
Failure to get these approvals can lead to demolition, even years after tenants have moved in.
It’s not just about meeting government conditions; it’s about safeguarding your investment.
Over 1,000 structures are under dispute in Lagos alone due to improper documentation.
A full suite of professional fees can cost between 7 to 12 percent of your total project cost.
For a ₦200 million project, that’s between ₦14 million and ₦24 million.
Some developers try to skip this part to save money, but that usually ends in regrets.
Inaccurate quantity surveying causes a budget overshoot.
Unsupervised sites produce substandard results. The professionals are not an expense, they are protection.
Then there’s infrastructure.
Will your apartment building use boreholes or rely on unreliable government water?
Do you need a transformer?
Will you install solar panels or rely on diesel generators?
How will waste be managed?
These costs can easily hit ₦10 million to ₦20 million, depending on your choices.
And in most Nigerian cities, power and water infrastructure are your responsibility.
The government won’t do it for you, especially in new layouts.
What about fencing, gates, interlocking, and landscaping?
Many developers forget these costs until the end, when funds are exhausted.
Yet tenants judge a building not just by the rooms but by the compound.
A secure, well-paved, aesthetically pleasing compound is the difference between a six-month vacancy and a six-day turnaround.
Depending on the size of your plot and design, expect to spend another ₦5 million to ₦12 million on these exterior works.
Let’s now consider a realistic example.
A mid-tier 6-unit apartment block in a mid-density part of Lagos, like Ogba, Gbagada, or Surulere, might cost you as follows: ₦50 million for land, ₦90 million for structure, ₦25 million for labour, ₦10 million for approvals and professionals, and another ₦15 million for infrastructure and final finishing.
That’s a total of ₦190 million.
If you’re building something more upscale in Lekki, Wuse 2, or Port Harcourt GRA, your land cost alone could cross ₦100 million, and your building cost another ₦200 million, especially if you’re adding modern facilities like elevators, smart home wiring, or underground parking.
And these numbers are not static.
Inflation in Nigeria is real and aggressive.
From 2022 to 2024 alone, construction costs rose by more than 65 percent, according to the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors.
Materials like cement, reinforcement, electrical wires, and plumbing parts are affected by forex volatility.
So the longer your project takes, the more you pay.