It is an undeniable fact that correcting Ghana\u2019s housing deficit would require concerted efforts by both the government and private sector.<\/p>\n
At Citi FM\u2019s Housing Forum which came off on Tuesday at the Alisa Hotel, discussants identified the systemic challenges facing the housing sector and looked at ways to correct the trend.<\/p>\n
These bordered on the future of housing with an emphasis on sustainability, affordability, standards and financing.<\/p>\n
With a projected housing deficit of 2 million by 2020, industry players believe there is the need to pin down all stakeholders to quicken the pace of bridging the housing gap.<\/p>\n
With a keen interest in how the capital city is planned and structured, the CEO of Apollonia City, Bright Owusu-Amofa identified the complex issues in land acquisition and documentation as one fundamental issue which ought to be rectified immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Metropolitan and national governments must be willing and able to either acquire or facilitate the acquisition of bulk developable lands. We also need to provide the enabling infrastructure for the development of satellite towns and cities,\u201d Mr. Amofa said.<\/p>\n
While admitting that Ghana\u2019s relatively high cost of mortgages, prices out a large chunk of prospective homeowners, the Chief Operating Officer of Ghana Home Loans, Kojo Addo-Kufuor impressed on colleague industry players to develop models that will enable everybody to get accommodation despite his daring remarks that, \u2018not everybody will own a house.\u2019<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Professor William George Ntsiful of the Department of Architecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and a member of the Ghana Institute of Architects believes the continuous pricing of properties in dollars by real estate developers remains as a key constraint to Ghana\u2019s housing challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 GREDA has apparently moved towards the high end of the housing systems in the country; some of the housing systems that they build, first of all, the cost is in dollars not in cedis and some people do afford and have bought such houses but I don\u2019t think the average Ghanaian can ever dream of buying a house from GREDA,\u201d Professor Ntsiful remarked.<\/p>\n
In a sharp rebuttal, the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), Mr. Sammy Amegayibor attributed their decision to the cost of finance which is largely indexed to the dollar bearing in mind the depreciation of the local currency.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not our fault we don\u2019t actually want your dollar but the problem is we have invested money and most of us also go out there to borrow money. Real estate is not a supermarket item where you can produce it 24 hours; it takes a long time like two to three years. How can I borrow money today at 1 dollar to 2 cedis and by the time I finish handing over the project, its one is to four cedis?\u201d He quizzed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had borrowed 100 or one million dollars at the beginning of the project, I have to pay back at the end of the project with interest. Where do you expect the developer to find the difference in the exchange rate? It is not indexing the price to the dollar that will make him survive I cannot invest hundred thousand and reap eighty thousand, my businesses will collapse,\u201d Mr. Amegayibor added.<\/p>\n
The forum also climaxed the outdoor events for this year\u2019s Citi Business Festival.<\/p>\n
The Real Estate Forum provided the platform to discuss critical issues pertaining to Ghana\u2019s housing sector.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee\/citibusinessnews.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is an undeniable fact that correcting Ghana\u2019s housing deficit would require concerted efforts by both the government and private sector. At Citi FM\u2019s Housing Forum which came off on Tuesday at the Alisa Hotel, discussants identified the systemic challenges facing the housing sector and looked at ways to correct the trend. These bordered on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,171,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n