CBN: Nigerians Put Home Purchases and Investments on Hold as Living Costs Bite

Nigerian households are delaying major purchases, including homes, landed property and investments, as worsening consumer confidence and rising living costs put pressure on household finances, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) September 2026 Household Expectations Survey.

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The CBN said the purchase outlook for houses stood at -68.2 points in September, while investments recorded -50.7 points. The findings came as overall consumer sentiment fell to -18.7 points from -9.9 points in August, signalling a more pessimistic outlook among households.

The latest figures indicate that households remain cautious about committing income to high-value assets as essential expenditure continues to dominate their budgets.

Household Confidence Weakens in September

The Overall Consumer Sentiments Index fell by 8.8 points in September, moving from -9.9 points in August to -18.7 points.

The CBN said the Economic Conditions Index stood at -21.5 points, while the Family Financial Situation Index remained negative at -23.9 points. The Family Income Sentiments Index also recorded a negative reading of -10.5 points.

The readings indicate that households remained pessimistic about both the wider economy and their personal financial circumstances during the month.

Consumer sentiment also remained negative over shorter periods. The CBN recorded readings of -8.7 points for the next month and -0.4 points for the next three months.

However, the six-month outlook improved to 7.1 points, suggesting that households expect financial conditions and their willingness to spend to improve gradually over the longer horizon.

House Purchase Intentions Fall Deeply Into Negative Territory

Housing recorded one of the weakest purchase-intention readings in the survey.

The CBN reported a house-purchase sentiment index of -68.2 points in September, making housing one of the categories where households showed the strongest reluctance to commit significant income.

Motor vehicles recorded -67.3 points, while investments stood at -50.7 points. Household appliances and other consumer durables recorded -49.5 points, while rent recorded -32.0 points.

The negative readings indicate that respondents were generally unwilling to make these major financial commitments under prevailing economic conditions.

The CBN also reported that buying conditions for major purchases remained below its 50-point threshold across the survey horizons, indicating an unfavourable environment for significant household spending.

Buildings and Landed Property Also See Weak Demand

The survey showed particularly weak willingness to purchase buildings and landed properties.

Respondents recorded a buying-condition index of 14.8 points for buildings and landed properties in September. The corresponding figures stood at 15.7 points for motor vehicles and 19.4 points for consumer durables.

These readings sit well below the CBN's 50-point threshold and indicate that households were highly cautious about committing funds to major assets.

The figures do not represent completed property transactions or a measured decline in national house sales. Instead, they capture household intentions and perceptions of prevailing buying conditions.

That distinction is important for interpreting the data, particularly in a housing market where demand can remain structurally high even when households cannot afford to transact.

Essential Spending Takes Priority

The CBN survey found that households continued to prioritise essential expenditure as they managed higher perceived prices.

Food remained the dominant spending priority, followed by transportation, other household goods, education, and electricity and water.

The shift towards essential expenditure leaves households with less disposable income for major purchases such as homes, land, vehicles and investments.

The development has direct relevance for the housing market because a household's ability to purchase or finance a property depends not only on property prices but also on the amount of income available after essential living expenses.

Perceived Price Pressure Remains High

Households' perception of price increases also deteriorated in September.

The CBN's Consumer Sentiments Index for average prices of selected items rose to 33.5 points from 23.0 points in August, indicating that respondents perceived prices as increasingly high.

The finding follows the CBN's separate Inflation Expectations Survey, which showed that the share of households perceiving inflation as high increased to 77.2% in September from 67.2% in August.

Rural households recorded a higher high-inflation perception of 79.1%, while households earning below ₦70,000 recorded the highest rate at 80%.

The two surveys point to sustained pressure on household purchasing power, even as Nigeria's official headline inflation rate moderated marginally to 15.39% in August from 15.43% in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Housing Demand Faces an Affordability Constraint

The CBN findings highlight the difference between underlying housing need and effective housing demand.

Nigeria continues to face a substantial housing requirement, but households still need sufficient income and access to finance to convert that need into actual purchases.

When food, transportation, education, electricity and other essential expenses consume a larger share of household income, prospective buyers may postpone home purchases even when they require additional or better-quality accommodation.

For developers, this creates a more difficult market environment. High construction and financing costs can push property prices upwards at the same time that households become less able to pay those prices.

Property Investment Also Comes Under Pressure

The decline in investment sentiment extends beyond owner-occupied housing.

The CBN recorded an investment sentiment index of -50.7 points in September, indicating broad caution towards committing household income to investments.

For real estate, weaker investment sentiment can affect demand for land, residential properties and other property assets, particularly among households that depend on disposable income rather than institutional capital.

However, the survey does not establish that investors have withdrawn from Nigeria's property market. It measures household sentiment and purchase intentions, while property investment also involves developers, institutional investors, pension funds, real estate investment trusts and other sources of capital.

High Interest Rates Add to the Challenge

The household sentiment data also comes against a backdrop of concerns about financing conditions.

The CBN's survey found that 62.2% of respondents preferred lower lending rates, while 45.1% favoured higher interest rates when higher rates were presented as a tool for controlling inflation. Another 44.8% preferred lower rates even if this came with the risk of higher inflation.

For prospective homeowners, borrowing costs can materially affect affordability because higher mortgage or bank lending rates increase the cost of financing a property.

Developers also face higher financing costs when funding construction through debt, potentially increasing the final cost of housing.

Consumer Outlook Expected to Improve Gradually

Despite the weak September readings, the CBN survey points to a more positive household outlook over the longer term.

Overall consumer sentiment was projected to improve from -18.7 points in September to -8.7 points over the next month, -0.4 points over the next three months and 7.1 points over the next six months.

The improvement suggests that households expect conditions to become more favourable over time, although the survey does not guarantee a recovery in housing transactions or investment activity.

A sustained improvement in purchasing power, inflation conditions and access to affordable credit would be important factors in translating stronger sentiment into actual housing demand.

Outlook

The CBN's September Household Expectations Survey shows that Nigerian households are becoming increasingly cautious about major financial commitments as living costs continue to influence spending priorities.

The -68.2-point house-purchase sentiment and 14.8-point buying-condition index for buildings and landed properties highlight the scale of the current affordability challenge. At the same time, negative investment sentiment indicates that households are also limiting commitments beyond housing.

For Nigeria's property market, the immediate issue is therefore not simply the availability of housing but the ability of households to finance it. A recovery in effective housing demand will depend on how household incomes, living costs, lending conditions and broader consumer confidence develop over the coming months.

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