Inflation-Hedging Effectiveness of Real Estate: Empirical Evidence From Tula, Nigeria

This study aims at examining the inflation-hedging effectiveness of Agricultural real estate in Tula, Nigeria. Both primary and secondary data on real estate (farmland) returns (holding period rate of returns) and inflation rates in the study area for the period between 2002 and 2012 was obtained from private Estate Agents in Tula as well as the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics/Central Bank of Nigeria respectively. The collated data was analyzed using the Ordinary Least Square Regression model. Contrary to the common perception that real estate is an all-time inflation hedge, the study revealed that farmland does not effectively hedge against inflation in the study area. Inflation-hedging effectiveness of various asset classes is of particular interest to investors in view of the volatile inflationary and economic instability which characterized the economy of Nigeria. The results of this study will be useful for investment forecasts as well as investment decisions with respect to the asset types to include in investment portfolios as a measure for protecting the value of investors’ purchasing power from erosion by inflation. Research work on the subject of inflation-hedging capabilities of real estate majorly focused on residential, commercial and industrial real estate. This study expanded the scope of the inflation-hedging literature by empirically examining the inflation-hedging effectiveness of agricultural real estate in Tula, Nigeria.