Housing for the urban poor: towards alternative financing strategies for low-income housing development in Ghana

This article aims to provide an understanding of the housing market situation in Ghana, the financing instruments available and the challenges faced by low-income households in accessing housing finance. The gap between income and house prices is shown to be huge across different groups in Ghana. It is also demonstrated that conventional mortgage finance is inaccessible to low-income households due to high payment-to-income ratios, lack of cash for down-payments and long repayment periods. Three alternative housing finance strategies are proposed: first, practical approaches to financing housing development through the spatial planning system; second, strategies to develop and make housing microfinance accessible to low-income households; and third, strategies to mobilise labour for housing development at reduced costs through community-based initiatives. Together, these alternative strategies could provide sustainable and affordable housing finance options for low-income housing development in Ghana.