Factors Influencing Rental and Capital Values of Residential Investment Property in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

There are various purposes the rental or capital values of residential investment property could be sought. However, most previous studies on factors influencing value of residential investment property are expressed in a general term; not specifically indicating whether rental or capital value. This may mislead investors in making the wrong investment decision. Using aggregation and disaggregation approach, this study examined the general and specific factors determining the rental and capital values of residential investment property in Abuja, Nigeria with a view to providing information that could guide the investment decisions. With the use of a structured questionnaire, cross sectional survey was adopted to obtain the perceptual opinion from 136 estate surveying and valuation firms in the study area. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics of Relative Important Index (RII). The findings reveal a variation in the outcome of general factors and specific factors and that in specific term, factors influencing the capital value are significantly more in quantity and rating than the ones influencing the rental value. Out of the 23 (13 for rental and 10 for capital value) general determining factors, 11 (3 for rental and 8 for capital value) are actually significant. Average number of rooms; change in maintenance cost/taxes and the neighbourhood characteristics mainly influence the rental value of residential property while cost of construction; type of structure/quality of facilities; potential of rental growth; title and size of the land; neighbourhood attributes; inflation impact; size and structural characteristics and state of supply in property market are the main factors influencing the capital value. This noted variation is an indication for property investment stakeholders to be cautious and specific in the selection of the most appropriate determining factors for their investment objective to avoid investment decision errors.