A two-day housing exhibition, organised by the Ghana Real Estates Developers Association [GREDA] in collaboration with the Ghana High Commission, has ended in London.

The exhibition, under the theme, Bringing modern and affordable houses to the doorstep of the people? provided the opportunity for Ghanaians living in the U.K to discuss the purchase of houses or embarking on housing projects in Ghana with experienced and well-organised developers.

Developers and service providers from Ghana and the UK who attended the Housing Exhibition included 3P Estate Developers Ltd, Salem Investments Ltd, Metaprod Aluminium Ltd, Coastal Estates Ltd, Comet Properties Ltd, and State Housing Company Ltd.

The rest were Akuaba Estates, Emefs Real Estates, Regimanuel Grey Ltd., Tracoaf Estates Ltd., Buena Vista, Taysec, Ben Dwimoh & Company Ltd., all of which were represented by Regalon International, a reputable UK Real Estate Agency.

During the exhibition, a special house raffle was introduced to the Ghanaian community. The lucky winner of the house raffle would win a two-bedroom house situated at the Teshie-Nungua Esates.

A ticket for the special house raffle, selling at ?20 per ticket, is currently on sale at various locations in and outside the London Metropolis till March 5th 2005.

As part of the exhibition, an investment forum was organized for the visiting exhibitors. Several foreigners and non-resident Ghanaians interested in acquiring properties in Ghana participated in the forum.

The highlight of the exhibition was the launch of the UK and the Netherlands edition of the Ghana Real Estates Magazine International by H.E. Mr. Isaac Osei, Ghana?s High Commissioner to the UK. He called on the Ghanaian community in the UK to endeavour to invest in property development back home in order to contribute to the enhancement of their country?s base.

Mr. Osei said the Mission would continue to encourage Ghanaians at its outreach programmes to acquire houses at affordable prices through creditable real estates developers in the country under the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association.

He said by purchasing houses through GREDA?s approved firms, applicants would not be falling into the hands of charlatans who misused their monies for other purposes.

On the raffle, Mr. Osei announced that he had already taken custody of the two-bedroom house donated by GREDA and urged Ghanaians to patronize the raffle tickets which would be drawn on March 6, 2005.

It would be recalled that the keys to the house were handed over to High Commissioner Osei at the offices of GREDA in Accra recently.

Mr. B.D.K. Adu, President of GREDA announced that a seven-member committee under the chairmanship of the Ghana High Commission had been constituted to ensure accountability and transparency in the raffle scheme.

He announced that GREDA would hold a one-week housing exhibition in London during the summer next year to close deals that were clinched during the exhibition.

Hon. Adu thanked the High Commissioner and staff for their assistance in the organization of the exhibition and the launch of the Ghana Real Estates Magazine International which, he described, as the beginning of GREDA?s efforts at bringing houses to the doorstep of the people.

The Executive Director of the Ghana Real Estates Developers Association, Mr. William D. Opare urged prospective house owners to endeavor to cross-check their land and building transactions with his office to protect their investments and not fall into the wrong hands.

The publisher of the Ghana Real Estates Magazine International, Mr. Emmanuel Adamitey encouraged Ghanaians abroad to always read the magazine and acquaint themselves with trends in the land and property market back home.