Examination of The Impacts of Road Rehabilitation On Real Estate Values in Owerri Metropolis, Imo State (2010-2020)

Transportation’s most significant impact on land development occurs when access is provided to land, as increased access to land raises its potential for development. Since 2010, Owerri Metropolis has witnessed unprecedented development within the socio-economic and political life of the state through road rehabilitation projects. Development and rehabilitation of road is essentially important to real estate activities, and the real estate market has experienced quite a number of developments as a result of the road infrastructure and rehabilitation going on over the years as many roads have been rehabilitated to solve the problem of traffic congestion in Owerri Metropolis. It is presumed by the researcher that the effect of road rehabilitation on the surrounding area is adding value to real estate. This study therefore examined road rehabilitation and its impacts on real estate values in Owerri Metropolis, Imo State. The study focused extensively on the road rehabilitation projects in Owerri Metropolis from 2010 to 2020 with a view to establishing how the residents as well as real estate values has been affected positively and negatively over the years. The population of the study consists of107 Estate Surveyors and Valuers, 39Real Estate Developers and 23,293 real property owners in Owerri Metropolis, consisting of Owerri Municipal, Owerri West and Owerri North LGAs, Imo State. The research adopted the survey method using structured questionnaires, personal interviews and observations as data collection instruments, with107 Estate Surveyors and Valuers, 39 Real Estate Developers and673 property owners constituting the sample size. The data collected were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical tests. The hypotheses were tested using One-Sample T-Test. The study revealed that the process of road rehabilitation poses numerous challenges, and these challenges were significant enough that they exert negative influences on the residents at the time of execution. However, on completion, the benefits were more significant than the challenges that they go a long way to exert great positive influence on the values of real estate in the neighborhood. The study concluded by recommending that the rehabilitation of more roads will continue to present more benefits to the residents, and by so doing will continue to enhance real estate values in Owerri Metropolis, Imo State.