An Assessment of Commercial Real Estate Performance as an Investment Option in Nnewi, Anambra State, Nigeria

Nnewi in the past two decades has grown considerably not only in size and infrastructural development but also as a commercial town to reckon with in Anambra State South-East Nigeria. This work therefore tries to assess the performance of commercial real estate development as an investment option in Nnewi using shops, offices and warehouses. This study is also delimited to old Nnewi-Onitsha road, Edo-Ezemewi Road and Nwagbara Road which are important commercial roads (CBD) in Nnewi. The study tries to determine the performance of the selected commercial uses in the selected roads from 2006 – 2010 and 2011 – 2015. Thereafter a comparison of the two periods was made. The survey research method was adopted. Data was collected through questionnaires distributed to Landlords of commercial properties in the study area, Estate Surveyors and Valuer, property developers in Nnewi and other secondary sources. The hypothesis developed was tested using ANOVA. The study shows a significant difference in the performance of shops offices and warehouses in Nnewi. The study recommended among other things that real estate investors in Nnewi and indeed in Nigeria should seek the help of professionals (Estate Surveyors and Valuers) who will carry out market and consumer preferences research/analysis before they venture into commercial real estate development.