Ghana has failed as a country to provide the road map and policies to regulate the housing sector by building affordable houses for workers.
The prospects of affordable houses for the ordinary Ghanaian worker are bleak considering the high cost of homes, low income levels and the not-clearly defined mortgage terms in the country.
Housing prices in Ghana have experienced an overall hike of between 18.5% and 25%, making access to a decent residential housing property more difficult. According to a Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing report, Ghana has over 1.7 million housing deficit by the end of 2016, if stringent measures are not taken to arrest the current situation.
Difficult economic conditions coupled with the fast depreciation of the local currency and the introduction of the 17.5% VAT on Real Estate have led to the high cost of housing. Only few workers notably, young corporate executives, middle level and the high-income level earners in the country with the banking, telecom and insurance sectors can afford to own a house.
Analysis of the components of the housing prices indicates that, location attributes including housing area, proximity to public transportation and security, proximity of green areas, neighborhood, structural factors like area or suburb, plot and room sizes are important factors of the cost of housing. Other factors are neighborhood attributes including the exact geographical or administrative location of the property, social and economic situation of the area as well as the aesthetic aspects or landscape of the environment are all pricing components.
The mortgage market has its own challenges, making it extremely difficult for the average worker to access a facility now. Available statistics in the country reveal that a worker is required to make a monthly repayment of GH¢1,820.00 for a one bedroom house with a qualifying income of GH¢4,000.00. Sadly, about 85% of Ghanaian workers earn below this qualifying income. Obviously, consumer disposable incomes have been badly affected by the poor economic performance of the country, making it virtually difficult for the ordinary Ghanaian worker to purchase a standard two-bedroom house.
In spite of all these difficulties, there appears to be strong sign of the housing market as evidenced by the entry of numerous new real estate companies on the country.
However, for the country to overcome the hosing deficit in the country and to meet the 1.7 million houses before 2016, the country needs to stabilize the economy, the currency and increase the minimum wage in other to empower the ordinary work.
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