Welcome to March! As we reflect on the previous month, a number of things have stood out for us. 

As a business, February was a particularly exciting month for us as we officially graduated from the MetaProp Accelerator in partnership with Columbia University in New York. The programme included training events, pitching sessions, exceptional mentorship and great networking opportunities, most notably, with former and current members of the Real Capital Analytics team. All this renewed our resolve to work with you in making real estate data more accessible on the continent.

While that happened, we completed the redesign of our News and Insights page and launched 5 new data dashboards in Accra and 3 in Ibadan which you can check out here!

The team also spent some time in the amazing Cuddle by Cadwell project, which is now the tallest building in Ikoyi and is set to add a fresh pool of ultra-luxury apartments into an ever-growing pipeline. In the same area, El-alan and Kaizen have launched 39 Bourdillon, less than two years after selling out 4 Bourdillon. These projects are a testament to the staggering speed that we are seeing luxury and ultra-luxury development starts in Ikoyi, making it even harder to truly decipher where the tipping point is. What is definitely clear is that developers with a track record, no matter how small, have a significant upper hand.

Finally, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the tail end of February has dominated global discussions over the last few days and will be a strong theme in the quarter ahead. With this, the team has been considering the impact that wars typically have on real estate markets. After a few internal debates on this topic, here are two super short positions on the likely impact on the real estate market. Feel free to throw yours in the ring. 

• Volatility in asset markets across the world will slow down the house buying process as large capital used for down payments or home purchases are typically tied up in financial instruments. 
• Depending on where you are in the world, rising oil prices and resultant inflation may lead to temporary but ultimately greater pressure on household incomes, discouraging additional spending, especially in capital intensive areas like home purchases.

What stood out to you during the month of February? Send us all a note on [email protected] and let me and the rest of my team know. We’d love to hear from you.