THE IMPACT OF ROAD TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE ON HOUSING PRICES: A CASE STUDY OF IBA LCDA, LAGOS

Effective road infrastructure plays a central role in expanding economic activities, creating options, saving time, and consequently improving the quality of life. Empirical evidence exists to prove that despite its immense benefits, road construction is bound to have both social and economic consequences. In Lagos state, real estate and housing have been the subject of many policies. Despite government efforts, many infrastructural and technological challenges persist that have hampered absolute benefits from being derived. The rising cost of housing in Iba LCDA has become an issue of concern and has created a need to investigate events that could be attributed to this rise. In response, this study examines the relationship between improved road transport infrastructures and housing costs in Iba LCDA. It goes further to highlight the importance of road infrastructure in decision-making regarding housing. The central aim of this study is to determine the extent to which improvements in road transport infrastructure have influenced housing costs in Iba LCDA. To this effect, the study adopts a mixed method approach for data collection and analysis through the combination of questionnaire and key informant interviews. The results revealed that the leading consequence of road development was attributed to high rent as verified by 44.4% of respondents. The interviews corroborated that the relationship between improved road network variables and housing costs in Iba LCDA is a positive one. The key informants also revealed that the extent to which the price of a property would increase depends on certain unique characteristics, such as the distance from the road and accessibility of the property. Another finding is that for some residents, rent has increased as much as four times within the period after road construction. In light of these findings, the study recommends that the government should be involved in the regulation of housing costs to protect the interests of the residents.