Ever wondered about house prices in Accra and if you or most people would ever be able to afford to buy a home in the city getting more expensive by the minute? That’s must have been what was running through CediTalk’s Jerome Kuseh when he published his article, Understanding House Prices in Accra.
Home ownership is much more than a financial goal. For many, it is the crowning glory of a life of work, planning, saving and self-denial.
Jerome, CediTalk
The powerful opening line above sets the tone of the article and explains why house prices in Accra are high and the hurdles many people in Accra face to owning their dream homes.
There are many insights from the article by Jerome. Below, I’ve outlined some of the key learnings from that article that paint the reality on the ground for most Ghanaians.
High Demand, High House Prices in Accra
Everyone wants to be in Accra meaning that properties, no matter how crappy they are always in hot demand. Landlords have caught on and have priced accordingly. While it comes off as unfair for most people, there’s always someone with more money ready to pay. come off as unfair to
Accra is a Jam
This is both figurative and literal. Accra is where it’s all at, leading to the point above. But beyond that, the traffic situation (I personally have to leave home before 6 just to avoid traffic), the centralization of commerce & business as well as the transportation nightmare means everyone wants to be as close to the most “jamming” parts of Accra. That desire, aka high demand in areas such as Airport Residential, Dzorwulu, North Kaneshie, Tesano, Labone, Cantonments, East Legon drives up the prices considerably.
High prices mean people move further away from the city centre in order to afford decent accommodation. But that just makes the traffic situation even worse because ultimately, our jobs are all within the same areas.
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Not So Ghanaian Homes
What does that even mean? Well, the materials and furnishings in homes are usually imported from elsewhere. Surprised? Don’t be. Ghana imports tomatoes from Burkina Faso.
This article penned by Ernest Hanson and Scott Muray (published on Denya Developers’ blog) expands on how importing building materials increases houses prices in Accra. It makes for great reading.
Ghana Hard Roff
Translation: Ghana’s economy doesn’t play nice. Property developers have to contend with crazy interest rates when they finance their developments. This cost is transferred to property seekers and the cycle continues.
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Laughable Regulation
I mean, there’s regulation, a rent control act and a Rent Control Unit which is supposed to oversee rent, but…
The tune above has been sung before. There are more remixes than needed. Too many times in the past actually. I’m about to rent a new space, and it’s not for 6 months despite this “law”.
The least said about this broken record…
What’s more? Houses are priced in dollars and the cedi to dollar rate is like ants going against Thanos. The cedi is taking quite the beating but most people earn meager salaries in cedis so it’s hard to imagine them owning any of these homes.
Solutions?
Jerome makes some excellent points that could ease the high house prices in Accra. But will they implemented by Ghanaian lawmakers who care more about their pockets and their emotional attachments to their political parties? It’s highly unlikely. At least not anytime soon.
Depressing? Very.
Long and short, we’re fu**ed!
Unless you’re making some big bucks, owning a house in Accra is unlikely.
Go read Jerome’s post on CediTalk which sheds amazing insights on house prices in Accra.
I'm Kadi Tay and I write about different things, real estate is one of them. The plan is to make real estate info fun by kicking out Mr. corporate stiff. So don't be surprised if you see a Kwesi Arthur reference somewhere. I promise it'll make sense. When I'm not working magic here, you'll find me talking geek stuff in Africa, travelling with my buds, highlighting young people killing it, talking about life and adulting, or doingrandom things.
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