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Real Estate and Construction
The Ghanaian real estate market has seen signifi-
cant expansion due to the rapid growth of the Gha-
naian economy and the influx of foreign investors
into the country. Immense opportunities exist in the
construction of residential houses, industrial and
commercial houses as well as shopping centers, ho-
tels and hostels for tertiary institutions.
Industry Structure
The real estate industry consists of residential, com-
mercial, industrial and recreational properties. Com-
mercial properties include hotels, office buildings,
conference facilities, and retail space. The industry
is currently dominated by residential and commercial
properties with the residential property market being
the most active. The industrial property market is sig-
nificantly smaller in size than the commercial property
market, while recreational properties are the smallest
segment. The residential and commercial markets
are dominated by private companies, which control
over ninety percent of property holdings.
OVERVIEW
Residential Properties
Formal housing supply has traditionally been the role
of the Government of Ghana through major competi-
tive providers like State Housing Corporation (SHC),
Tema Development Corporation (TDC) and Social
Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT). SHC
and SSNIT have concentrated on providing blocks of
flats in regional capitals like Accra, Cape Coast and
Takoradi. TDC is basically involved in site servicing
and facilitating residential development.
In seeking to boost housing supply, the Government
of Ghana is pursuing various programs such as the
affordable housing program initiated in 2005, to build
over 100,000 thousand units of affordable housing
through Private, Public Partnerships (PPP) across the
country. Government’s efforts are being complement-
ed by individual households and real estate develop-
ers that are providing residential housing to meet the
high demand. The government has also entered into a
public-private partnership arrangement with STX Engi-
neering and Construction Ghana Ltd (a Ghana-Korea
joint venture development company) and HFC Bank
Ltd to construct 200,000 low-income housing units
nation-wide over the next five years.
The demand for housing units is mostly concentrated
within the Accra-Tema metropolis. The development
of new housing estates is being spearheaded by the
Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GRE-
DA), an umbrella organization of loosely associated
private real estate developers. The top five GREDA
companies that account for roughly 75% of the
group’s residential property development are Regi-
manuel Gray, Parakuo Estates, NTHC Properties Ltd,
ACP Estates Ltd, and Manet Housing Co Ltd.
Commercial Properties
Demand for commercial properties in Ghana has in-
creased substantially over the past decade due to
the growing presence of foreign and multinational
companies seeking investment opportunities in the
country. Estate developers are building multi-pur-
pose commercial properties to meet the ever-grow-
ing demand. Many owners of residential property in
prime areas of Accra are converting or remodelling
their properties into new commercial developments.
Prime commercial areas and streets in Accra are
Accra Central Business District, Airport Commercial
Area, Asylum Down, Osu, Kwame Nkrumah Avenue,
Kojo-Thompson Road, Independence Avenue, Spin-
tex Road, Liberation Road, Ring Road Central, and
Cantonments Road (Oxford Street).
Industrial Properties
The development of the industrial property market in
Ghana has being slow as there is a decline in manu-
facturing and an increase in importation of finished
products into the country. The industrial property
market consists mainly of factories and warehouses
for rent or sale and is restricted to the North and
South Industrial Areas in Kaneshie, Spintex Indus-
trial Area, and Tema Industrial Area.
Industry Structure of
Real Estate and Construction Sector