Background Financing remains a critical challenge in Nigeria’s real estate sector, where high capital intensity, macroeconomic instability, and weak institutional frameworks limit sustainable housing delivery. This study evaluates the financing models adopted by real estate developers in Lagos State and identifies the key factors influencing their adoption, contributing to the scarce empirical evidence on financing innovation in emerging markets. Methods Using the 2025 REDAN Lagos State directory, the study targeted 391 registered development firms. A sample size of 194 was determined with Yamane’s (1967) formula, and 194 questionnaires were distributed. Of these, 146 valid responses were retrieved (75.26% response rate). Data analysis employed descriptive statistics and factor analysis to examine adoption patterns and underlying determinants. Results The workforce was highly skilled, with 43.8% of respondents holding master’s degrees, while architects (37.7%) and engineers (32.2%) dominated professional profiles. At the firm level, 43.2% had delivered over 20 projects, demonstrating substantial project capacity. Among financing models, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) were most adopted (mean = 4.2466), followed by joint ventures (mean = 4.1575) and public–private partnerships (mean = 4.0959). Conventional mechanisms such as equity financing and commercial bank loans (mean = 4.0548 each) remained central, while crowdfunding (mean = 4.0411) and tokenization (mean = 3.8014) showed gradual but constrained adoption. Factor analysis revealed six components explaining 70.21% of variance, with project scale and duration (mean = 4.1233), high cost of finance (mean = 3.8082), and inflation (mean = 3.7329) as the most critical determinants. Conclusion The study provides novel insights into the hybrid financing landscape of Lagos State, highlighting the dominance of traditional models but also the emerging role of technology-driven alternatives. It argues that stronger institutional credibility, policy consistency, and regulatory support for innovative models are essential for deepening capital flows and ensuring sustainable real estate development in Nigeria.
Kadiri et al. (Mon,) studied this question.