An Investigation into the Factors Accounting for the High and Persistent Housing Deficit in Ghana

ABSTRACT For several decades, Ghana has faced an increasing housing deficit. As population is expected to grow in the coming years, so is the housing deficit, if the right measures are not put in place. Following this, the study sought to gather information from relevant stakeholders in the housing industry on the key factors influencing the housing deficit. Thereafter, ways of addressing the deficit were discussed and proposed. To achieve the objectives of the study, the following research questions were answered: i) What are the most pertinent factors accounting for the high and persistent deficit in Ghana? ii) In what ways are these factors influencing the persistence of the housing deficit? iii) In what ways can the housing deficit be addressed? A conceptual framework was developed for this study with the various players in the housing industry put into 5 different groups based on their roles in the industry. These groups are the construction team, financial institutions, regulatory team, housing and utility service providers as well as housing service customers. Quantitative data was then collected from 454 persons while qualitative data was gathered from 1 person each from the construction team, financial institutions, regulatory team and housing and utility service providers. The results revealed that amongst the main challenges encountered by home owners and potential home owners in acquiring a house are cost of land, cost of building materials and inadequate/expensive mortgage financing. On the side of those who supply housing, the key challenges were discovered to be high cost of building materials and labour, inadequate financing and defective land tenure system. Some ways of addressing the deficit were proposed including providing incentives to developers to help reduce construction cost, spreading jobs across the country to reduce congestion in major cities and the introduction of high rise buildings. Keywords: factors influencing the housing deficit, Ghana