I heard people are complaining, yet again, about the criminal rent prices in Lagos.
Even if you’re lucky to find a reasonably priced apartment, give it a year, and inflation will greet you in typical fashion.
But if you want to run away from Lagos because of rent prices, avoid a case of “from frying pan to fire” by crossing these places off your list.
“Abuja is no better”
— Debby, 35
I thought Lagos was bad till I moved to Abuja in early 2022. I only looked for apartments in what we’d call the “suburbs”, like Kubwa and Lugbe. Tell me why I was hearing ₦1.7m to ₦1.8m for two-bedroom apartments?
“They’ve moved Lagos craze to Ibadan”
— Torera, 28
Gone are the days when people move to Ibadan because they can’t afford Lagos. If you have a certain standard of living and want a decent one-bedroom mini flat in places like Bodija, just hold like ₦1m, minus agent fees.
“Port Harcourt is also pricey”
— Odi, 27
Renting here is also pricey, especially well-known residential estates or GRAs like Eliozu, Woji and the like. Two-bedroom apartments in these areas can cost as much as ₦900k – ₦1.2m per annum, but it’d most likely be a new building and really standard.
“The agents in Ado-Ekiti are in a weird competition”
— Ope, 33
I moved here in 2019 when you could still find standard three-bedroom apartments for between ₦200k to ₦250k. Now, you may need to budget around ₦400k if you want a new two-bedroom apartment with basic amenities, especially around areas close to the tertiary institutions. The prices may not be as bad as Lagos, but the business prospects in Ekiti are next to nothing, so it doesn’t make sense.
Then there are the agents who love to increase rent every year, as if they’re chasing them.
“The popular areas in Ilorin cost more”
— Adetola, 30
Rent is quite reasonable in Ilorin, except if you’re looking in places like Tanke or the GRA. GRA is the best area in Ilorin, and you can get a two-bedroom apartment for around ₦400k – ₦550k per annum. It’s not as much as what it’d cost in Lagos, but it can also be ridiculous, considering it’s much lesser in the inner towns.
RELATED: 8 Signs You Are About to Rent a Useless House in Ilorin
“You won’t even see what you’re paying for in Abeokuta”
— Dara, 25
You can get a one-bedroom apartment at around ₦400k in Oke-Mosan — which is one of the nicer neighbourhoods in the city — but my problem is you won’t even see what you’re paying for. It’s either the road is bad, the landlord wakes up and decides to increase the rent or light becomes an issue.
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