Towards a Comprehensive Theory of Real Estate Market Failures in Nigeria and Policy Response Frameworks

This dissertation develops a comprehensive theory of real estate market failures in Nigeria and derives from it a policy response framework that maps market failure types to appropriate intervention mechanisms, making original contributions to both the property economics literature and Nigerian housing and land policy. The concept of market failure is fundamental to justifying government intervention in real estate markets, but its application to Nigerian property markets has been partial and unsystematic, with policy interventions often responding to symptoms rather than underlying market failure mechanisms. The theoretical contribution identifies six distinct market failure types operating in Nigerian real estate markets: information externalities from opaque transaction price data and title systems; positive externalities in residential property maintenance that generate under-investment without collective action mechanisms; monopoly power in land markets arising from concentrated government control of formal land supply; public goods characteristics of planning infrastructure that markets undersupply; externalities in residential location choices that generate neighbourhood quality spill-overs; and distributional failures in housing access that exclude low-income households from the market's benefits. For each market failure type, the dissertation develops a theoretical model, identifies empirical indicators, and derives the implied policy response spectrum from minimally interventionist to more active government engagement. Empirical validation tests the presence and magnitude of each market failure type using Nigerian data. Comparative analysis with policy responses in comparable emerging markets in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia identifies approaches with transferable relevance. The integrated policy framework is presented as a evidence-based guide for Nigerian housing and land policy. Keywords: market failure, real estate policy, housing policy, property economics, Nigeria.