Housing Affordability for the Low-Income An Evaluation of the National Housing Fund Loan Beneficiaries in Akwa lbom State.

Abstract

The National Housing Fund established by Decree No. 3 of 1992 assumes that not more than 20% of the income of any Nigerian may be used for mortgage loan repayment or housing rent. In this study, effort was directed at determining the affordability of the National Housing Fund Loan by the populace in Akwa Thom State. Information on household income, assets, housing tenure and investment priority were obtained with the aid of a structured household questionnaire administered to 450 respondents in a randomly selected Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State. Results show that National Housing Loan is not affordable, particularly to the low-income earners. Beneficiaries earning N5,000.00 monthly income used more than 80% of their income for repayment. The study, therefore, presents housing cost or amount affordable to the low-income households.