Contrary to popular belief that non-resident Ghanaians have a higher appetite for mortgages, statistics from Ghana’s leading mortgage financing bank, GHL Bank, reveal that most mortgage customers are Ghanaian locals.

This demonstrates the growing interest and demand for mortgages by young professionals looking to own a home and proves that mortgages are not the preserve of the offshore Ghanaians.

This was disclosed by Richmond Asante, Head, Mortgage Origination at the much-anticipated annual Developers Seminar where he also stated that most of these customers are typically male in their 30s and 40s from the finance, IT and mining sectors. Although young people show great interest in mortgages only 2% of mortgage customers are under 30 years old.

Highlights of the seminar included a talk by Dr. Kwadwo Ohene Sarfoh, international Urban Development Specialist, on how players in the industry can innovate to ensure steady business growth, and awards for real estate developers with the highest contribution to the bank’s mortgage business.

Dr. Sarfoh charged real estate businesses to stop adopting a ‘business as usual’ approach to accommodation and assuming a ‘build and they will come’ mindset although the country is facing a housing deficit. He bemoaned the industry’s trend where houses are built but fail to meet the needs of the populace or fall out of their purchasing power. He stressed on the dire need for property developers to gather market intelligence in order to understand potential customers and how to meet their needs.

Members of the bank’s Real Estate Club from University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Institute of Journalism, Ashesi University and University of Professional Studies, also shared innovative ideas on how technology could improve the housing industry.

Mr. Samuel Amegayibor, the Executive Secretary of GREDA urged developers to pursue the implementation of policies that would protect and favour the growth of the industry.