Ghana’s housing experts are calling for a dedicated mortgage refinance company and formal legislation to anchor the National Homeownership Fund as the institution shapes its 2026 to 2030 strategic plan, according to proceedings from a stakeholder workshop held in Accra.
The workshop, convened by the National Homeownership Fund (NHF), brought together industry players, academics, and policymakers to inform the Fund’s next five-year strategy. It surfaced two structural proposals that go beyond the operational programmes the NHF has already launched: institutional reform of the banking system’s long-term lending capacity, and a legal framework that formally defines the Fund’s mandate.
Mr. Prosper Hoetu, Chief Executive Officer of the NHF, anchored the discussion around a sobering statistic: Ghana’s mortgage-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio sits at under 1%, one of the lowest anywhere, exposing deep structural gaps in the country’s housing finance market. He said high inflation, elevated lending rates, exchange rate volatility, and land tenure complications had collectively chilled demand for long-term mortgage products.
“The National Homeownership Fund exists to bridge the gap between aspiration and affordability,” Hoetu said.
The NHF has already piloted a National Mortgage Scheme through partnerships with selected banks, using blended finance to lower interest rates, and introduced Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with a rent-to-own model for buyers who cannot access traditional mortgages. The 2026 to 2030 strategy is intended to scale these tools while adding new levers.
Dr. Frank Gyamfi-Yeboah, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Land Economy at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), told the workshop that the banking sector’s structural mismatch, short-term deposits funding what should be long-term mortgage products, was a central problem. He proposed establishing a mortgage refinance company that would supply financial institutions with the long-term funding needed to price mortgages affordably.
Dr. Gyamfi-Yeboah also flagged a common practice that quietly inflates housing costs: developers routinely pass the expense of roads, water networks, and electricity connections directly to homebuyers. He proposed a Master Plan Community Developer (MPCD) framework to bring the state back into community planning, reduce infrastructure costs passed on to buyers, and curb land disputes.
He further argued that the NHF needed a dedicated legal framework. Without legislation, he said, the Fund’s mandate remains ambiguous, leaving it exposed to mission creep and undermining its credibility as a facilitator rather than a competitor to private developers.
Hoetu indicated the incoming five-year strategy would prioritise de-risking investment in housing, expanding mortgage access, and scaling alternative ownership models. He called on developers, financial institutions, and government to contribute to a more inclusive market, citing the multiplier effect a functioning housing finance system would have on construction, manufacturing, and financial services.
Ghana’s improving macroeconomic conditions, including headline inflation falling to 3.2% by March 2026 and continued cedi stability, give the proposals added viability. The NHF has said declining interest rates could bring lending rates under its mortgage scheme to single digits, a threshold that would meaningfully expand the pool of eligible borrowers.
