Estates Developers Make Profit

Players in Ghana�s real estate sector appear to be making good returns on their investment as more people move to acquire lands and new houses. Some estate developers told BUSINESS GUIDE that they made profits in 2013 compared to the preceding years. Estate agencies such as Devtraco Estates Limited, Blue Rose Estates Limited, Heavens� Gate Estates Limited, confirmed the development to BUSINESS GUIDE in separate interviews recently. Angela Hammond, Marketing Executive of Devtraco, located in Tema Community 25, said the price of a two-bedroom apartment stood at about $85,140.00. �We are making profits on our investment,� she gladly averred. An administrative assistant at Blue Rose Estates Limited located at Kasoa in the Central Region, Michelle confirmed that her outfit made profits. According to her, her agency sold an average of about five houses a month at a unit price of GH�55,000.00 in 2013 which she considered impressive. Heavens� Gates Estates Limited, dealers in plots of land, said they sold four plots of land monthly on average at a unit price of GH�8,000.00 and in some cases above that figure. Buyers of houses mostly comprised middle to upper-income earners while those who bought land were of the lower income bracket. With 38.3 percent of Ghana�s population under the age of 15, according to official figures churned out in 2010, the next decade will see a rapid growth in the working population and further pressure on new housing units. Ghana, thus, will need another 2 million housing units by 2020. Graham Tipple, a UN housing consultant, also estimates that 5.7 million rooms will be needed, along with supporting infrastructure and utilities. Ghana�s housing deficit stands at 1 million units, and there is the likelihood that the figure would double within the next decade, a public data on shelter indicated.