Posted: 2022 | Pages: 83| Format: MS Word | Chapters: 1-5 | Others: Questionnaires & References

Price – N3,000

CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION
  • BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE STUDY

Real estate investment REI, which serves as one of the measurements for wealth round the globe is defined by the Oxford dictionary as an investment in property in form of land or building.

All over the world investment in real estate is considered to be investment exclusively reserved to the male folks, Thrump (2008) this assertion have invariably created a psychological, social, economic and cultural treat to the female folks that they cannot invest or do business pertaining to real estate investment In spite the advantages of real estate.  Previous studies have shown that women contribution to this sector all over the world had been relatively slow.  Social institution and Gender index (2008) observed that women represents a tiny portion of land owners in Nigeria, this is same world over United Nation (1980) also identifies that women who constitute half of the world’s population owns less than 10% of the worlds` properties.

Women investment in real estate had been militated against by so many factors such as the old cliché that “real estate investment is reserved for the male folks alone.  Again that women are not good investors.  Thirdly is the fear factor of taking the associated risk of real estate investment.

In addition land tenure system especially in the south east Nigeria, where allodial title to land lies on the family, clan, village or community-heads each holding the title to land in trust for the other members of the unit.  It is the eldest male child in any of these cases that can assume the position of a head.  Women are not seen or regarded as part of the family or community land owner, this invariable make them not to have right to land.  Aluko and Amindu (2006) confirmed this by describing women’s land right in customary law as being fragile, transient and dependent upon age and marital status.  Ntsebeza (1999) states that because authority to land is generally ascribed to the patriarchal lineage, major decisions concerning land are taken by men.

More so gender discrimination militates against women in that, women were not full recognized in matter concerning land and other issues such as education etc, no improvement on women’s rights and means of livelihood were paid attention to, rather they were trained to become better house wives rather than income earners.  These limitations especially as it regards to land tenure system have so much affected women participation in real estate investment.  Even when doors of borrowing from financial institutions such as federal mortgage bank (FMB), commercial banks etc are open in other to finance real estate projects, women could not access this loan due to lack of security facilities especially the security of land or building which is the most acceptable collateral.

Despite all these limitations, women have continued to fight their ways into real estate investment market by breaking the walls of culture and land tenure systems.  The Catholic church, which is one of the largest holders of real estate in the world after Queen Elizabeth II, American Ted Turner and Irving family of Canada and J. Trump of American confirm through its Vatican Newspaper (2001) that all they have achieved may not be possible if not for the women whom through their groups contributed to the development of those real estates. 

Furthermore in the catholic diocese of Enugu, women have been found to be the major contributor to real estate investments through their group known as the Catholic Women Organisation (C.W.O). Their investment in real estate have seen to the development of so may real estate such as the Nazareth House, Parish houses lock up shops, convent homes, orphanage homes etc. in the words of Ike (2011) “without the investment of the C.W.O., the catholic diocese of Enugu would not have achieved all it did in real estate development.

With these impacts, the C.W.O have made thus far. It is also important to highlight the policies, convention/conference which had been made to ensure the liberation and participation of women in real estate investment.  This effort includes the enactment of the land use Decree of 1978 now land use Act of 1999, ratification of conferences/conventions on women and the millennium development goals. The above scenario necessitated this study