Housing market in Accra for the Ghanaians versus prices for expats

Last activity 07 October 2014 by PreachingWoman

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PreachingWomanActive member06 September 2014 15:44:17

Hello everyone,

I have a question that I hope someone can answer. The decline of the cedi is very alarming. However, I notice that the prices advertised for housing are often in U.S. dollars and are ten times the amount of what Ghanaians are paying for their own housing.

Why is there such a disparity? There are plenty of Ghanaians renting houses for 400 to 600 GHC per month but often, the expats are told by the Ghanaians that the local housing costs about 3700 GHC to 12000 GHC per month. It can not be true when we look at the average working wage in Accra and surrounding areas.

Can anyone explain this?

hkannGhana Expert06 September 2014 16:47:49

1175

A house that is rented for 400-600 per month is usually not in an expat area and generally lacks the ameneties that expats require such as aircon, swimming pool etc. Also expats generally earn more than 10x the average Ghanaian and it is usually their employer who pays for the accommodation and they would not be willing to move here and live in substandard housing.
The guy who works for us rents a room for 60 cedis a month but it has no water and toilet facilities are shared.
If you have to pay $300,000+ to purchase a house in an expat area you are not going to let it out for 500 cedis a month!
There is some low cost housing in areas on the outskirts of Accra where you can buy a property for 50,000 cedis and you may be able to rent that for 500 cedis

PreachingWomanActive member08 September 2014 13:52:02

Hello!

Thank you for the response!

In America, very, very few middle-class professionals live in homes with swimming pools. That is not a requirement for a house in this country for the majority of professionals. It is not common in America for middle-class professionals to live in houses that cost $300,000 either (unless they are in a suburb next to a large city, like Chicago).

In America, a house with endless electricity, endless water, air conditioning, and a couple of bathrooms is a norm.

The majority of professionals in America are not living in mansions that look like the ones in Trasacco Valley.

The notion abroad that America is filled with super rich people is very funny to the Americans when probably only 5% of the population can be classified as "rich" and maybe 1% classified as "super rich"!

nmaameNew member07 October 2014 13:36:55

am looking for forward to share a 2bedroom with a very good person. very affordable and has all the facilities to making a living easily you can talk of. its a new pleace and will be ready in a week time so you can contact me

PreachingWomanActive member07 October 2014 18:02:31

Hello,

Do you have photos of the inside and outside of the house?
Do you also have photos of the neighborhood and street?
Do you have photos of the water tank and generator as well?
Does the house have wireless internet connectivity?
Is the house in Accra?

Thank you.

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