2Mil. HOUSING
UNIT DEFICIT
ACCRA: THE CHALLENGES OF AN INFORMAL CITY
An Affordability Crisis —
56% of residents live in informal housing
With little legacy infrastructure, Accra is poised to play a leading role in next generation urban development. Legacy models of modern master planning— in particular western models— have not been successfully deployed nor integrated within most African cities and Accra is no exception. The reasons are numerous, however the most revealing is the cost to finance and build these proposals.
Ghana’s housing deficit hit 1.8 million units in 2022. To resolve this shortage over 16,500 houses will have to be built every month for the next ten years. The average cost of a house in Accra is GH₵315,000 and rising. Over 9 million people earn less than GH₵2000 per year. Over 8 million Ghanaians — about twice the population of Accra — are homeless. This crisis is exacerbated by the lack of an established and accessible personal banking, credit and mortgage market.
A GLOBAL COMPARISON
Second highest residential construction costs in Africa
Inflationary pressures on construction materials and labor have made new construction increasingly expensive. These increased costs are propped up by global capital, with ever ascending expectations for profit margins. The massive gaps left by this type of development are filled by unplanned communities — resulting in congested and poor living conditions lacking basic infrastructures such as water, waste and power.
Commercial Rents are on Par with London
These costs are also borne out in the commercial market, stifling the ability of local entrepreneurs to grow sustainable businesses. Prime commercial rents in Accra are on par with rents in London, locking out all but international businesses from occupying quality commercial spaces.
OPPORTUNITIES
A Path Toward Affordability
The cost to construct housing, and supportive programming such as commercial and educational space, offices etc. are greatly dependent on readily accessible construction materials. A vast majority of Accra’s construction material are imported, resulting in inflated costs to build and eventually passed on to renters and buyers. Through considering extensive reuse and repurposing at scale these costs are greatly controlled. This ultimately leads to increased lower investment risk, increased housing affordability, increased economic growth and participation and greater prosperity.
