Housing finance and delivery constraints in Ghana: the case of New Juaben municipality

Housing has been considered as one of the basic needs of households. However, statistics indicates that households in Ghana are experiencing acute housing problems. The study sought to investigate the activities of four main stakeholders of households, mortgage institutions, estate developers, and government land sector agencies, in the housing industry to present a sustainable recommendation to mitigate the problem. The case study methodology was adopted, and the New Juaben Municipality of Ghana was used as the study area. Data from face-to-face interviews, focus group discussions and archival records (secondary data) were obtained from the stakeholders and analysed to identify the findings of the study. It was realised that prices of houses sold by estate developers were high, households did not have adequate income to access and sustain payment of mortgages, financial institutions experienced high interest and foreign exchange rate risks, credit risk, and long foreclosure period. The concerns from real estate developers were unavailability and high cost of inputs like land, labour, capital, and building materials. On the side of the government, land sector agency services were not automated and this caused delays in land registration and planning approvals. It was therefore recommended that estate developers should construct houses with different finishes and prices so that households can choose what they can afford. Additionally, households’ incomes should be enhanced by the provision of subsidies from their employers as well as the government. The beneficiaries should be allowed to access benefits of tier 2 pension funds. The government should stabilise the policy and exchange rate rates to reduce mortgage financial risks encountered by banks and reduce the foreclosure period. Furthermore, estate developers should have land banks, engage trained specific building workforce, and use locally produced quality building materials whilst government land sector agencies should automate their services.