At the 2025 Regional Summit in Lagos, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) issued a strong call for international collaboration to solve the growing housing crisis and spur cross-border investments in real estate.
Kevin Brown, NAR’s President-elect, emphasized the scale of the housing gap in the U.S., pegged at nearly 3.8 million homes, and stressed that the shortage isn’t limited to America. According to him, the solution lies in a mix of innovation, capital infusion, and shared global expertise. NAR has already made real estate investments in regions like North America, Israel, and the UK, aiming to bring scalable solutions to what is now a worldwide concern.
Frank Oti, a Los Angeles-based realtor and NAR’s global ambassador to Africa, highlighted the affordability issue caused by soaring mortgage rates in African markets some as high as 30 percent. He urged governments to encourage foreign investment and create viable mortgage systems to make homeownership achievable for more people.
The summit focused on boosting investment readiness and data-driven policymaking while stressing the need for coordinated advocacy to strengthen real estate markets worldwide. Brown pointed to the importance of education in expanding the global reach of real estate professionals, noting how designations like the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) can equip agents to handle international transactions and navigate cultural and market differences effectively.
He also cited NAR’s 2024 report, which showed foreign buyers accounted for $42 billion in U.S. home sales within a 12-month period, underscoring how international commerce continues to shape housing trends. Programmes like REACH, run by NAR’s Second Century Ventures, are pushing innovation in markets across the globe from Latin America and Australia to Canada and the UK.
In closing, Brown urged real estate professionals to engage with diverse perspectives, especially in finding solutions to global challenges. “You grow when you listen to people who think differently,” he said, stressing that solving the housing crisis will require bold ideas, open minds, and a collective push from both public and private sectors.
