An Examination of Private Real Estate Developers’ Perspectives on Effectiveness of Government Support to the Ghanaian Housing Industry

Abstract

The centric role of housing in socio-economic development of nations makes many governments across the world play significant direct or indirect role in improving the housing industries for national development. Nonetheless, some governments, particularly in developing countries, have reduced their support for the housing industry to the creation of an enabling environment as a result of advised from World Bank. This appears to be failing due to economic challenges. Consequently, the entire Ghanaian housing sector has been left to private developers, who have very limited capacity to address the country's rising housing deficit, among other challenges. The purpose of this study is to make suggestions to the government to consciously improve its assistance to private real estate developers to help them in overcoming the challenges they face in the housing industry. The study was quantitative and made use of a survey questionnaire that was designed after reviewing relevant literature. Fifty-two (52) registered members of Ghana Real Estate Developers with offices were purposively sampled, and the data collected was analysed by SPSS v20 using descriptive statistics: cross-tabulations (correlation matrix) and frequencies. The findings revealed that the government's support to private real estate developers in housing development was inadequate. As a result of the affordability issues, private developers are discouraged from investing in housing for low to middle income households. Therefore, the study concluded that government commitment to the housing industry is critical, including streamlining the land tenure system, establishing land banking, assisting in the provision of infrastructure development, and assisting them in mortgage financing schemes.

Roof Over Heads: A Critical Appraisal of Housing in Ghana

“…Due to a lack of continuity by successive governments, Ghana has experienced several defeats in delivering public housing. Consequently, the country's current housing crisis has been exacerbated (Afrane et al, 2016). As shown in the policy paper published by the Bank of Ghana (B.O.G.)…”

“…Interestingly, following a government handover in 2009, most programs were neglected and abandoned without any apparent purpose available to complete these projects. As a result, hundreds of households might have remained accommodated if this housing scheme had been accomplished (Afrane et al, 2016). Policy actors, past and present, have therefore argued that the unavailability of assured funding sources, differences in policy conception, mismanagement of funds and political reasons have contributed to successive governments' lack of continuity of housing projects.…”

“…), this has worsened urban housing shortages (B.W., 2012), with an estimation of the urbanisation rate in Ghana at 3.31% (CAHF, 2020). As a result, housing availability has lagged behind demand, resulting in clusters of slums and neighbourhoods made up entirely of kiosks and containers with little infrastructure or sanitation (Afrane et al, 2016). This situation can be used to depict a scenario of economic hardship, particularly in urban areas.…”

“…Nevertheless, for a large portion of Ghana's population, finding a secure, affordable house/home is the most challenging task. This is because a lack of savings and borrowing constraints the Ghanaian environment's experiences compared to those of the advanced nations (Afrane et al, 2016). Furthermore, as Okonkwo (1997) pointed out, the need for capital in all economic sectors results in an underfunded housing finance system.…”

Analysis of Stakeholders' Perspectives on Barriers to Affordable Public Housing Implementation in Ghana

“…However, this study was conducted qualitatively to explore the perspectives of policy makers to find other barriers to the implementation of affordable housing in Ghana beyond those identified in the literature. Recognizing that housing is a critically important sub-sector of the economy and a critical element in tackling poverty, social stability and economic growth (GoG/MWRWH, 2012; Afrane, 2014); it was important to examine the barriers impeding its smooth implementation by successive governments. This study therefore contributes significantly to knowledge by providing new insights into the barriers to the implementation of affordable housing in Ghana.…”