FG to Float NMRC, New Mortgage Company

The Federal Government plans to establish a new Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) to revive the housing sector.

According to a release by the Ministry of Finance on Federal Government Projects in 2014, said in Abuja that the company was scheduled to be inaugurated on January.16.

It said that the new mortgage company would enhance the provision of more houses at affordable prices nationwide.

It said that Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company would be established to reinvigorate the housing and construction sector.

``NMRC will help increase liquidity in the housing sector, provide secondary market for mortgages and thereby increase the number of people able to purchase or build homes at an affordable price in the country,” it said.

The report said that 14 pilot states had been earmarked for the programme, adding that governors of the states had agreed to provide and fast-track land titles, foreclosure arrangements and service plots.

According to it, the company will help to create more than 200, 000 mortgages in the next five years at an affordable interest rates.

``To provide for those at the lower end of the economic ladder, there will be an expansion of mass housing schemes through a restructured Federal Mortgage Bank and other institutions to provide rent-to-own and lease-to-own options,” it said.

The ministry said that the idea would help many Nigerian families to own a home.

It explained that the idea would create additional jobs for architects and masons, electricians, plumbers, painters, interior decorators, among others.