scholarly journals Housing Affordability: Factors Influencing Housing in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Yakubu A. Zakaria ◽  
Kuusaana Elias Danyi

Housing is considered a basic human need. Yet deficit housing supply plagues Ghana. Studies on housing concentrate mainly on offering accommodation that neglects the problem of its affordability. As a result, this study examines factors influencing housing affordability using the Tamale Metropolis as a case study. Using stratified random sampling methodology, 271 renters and homeowners was chosen. Data analysis utilized descriptive statistics. The study showed inflation, rapid urbanization, and building material costs were the dominant factors that influence housing affordability. Rent was also found to be relatively affordable for all categories of housing units. Furthermore, it emerged that the efforts of homeowners, the private sector developers, and the state in the provision of housing were insufficient in providing affordable housing. Consequently, tenants are forced to invest over longer years for constructing or buying a home. The private sector should use less-cost building materials in its projects to provide housing for rent and/or sale, and still present minimum quality standards. It will mean that construction costs will not be too high to justify a high rent once the building is completed. Rent will be on the low side when this happens so tenants can afford to. Equally, it is precarious that the government joins forces with the private estate developers to put up flats at reasonable prices using cheap local building materials.

Author(s):  
Kristin M. Szylvian

Federal housing policy has been primarily devoted to maintaining the economic stability and profitability of the private sector real estate, household finance, and home-building and supply industries since the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945). Until the 1970s, federal policy encouraged speculative residential development in suburban areas and extended segregation by race and class. The National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Realtors, and other allied organizations strenuously opposed federal programs seeking to assist low- and middle-income households and the homeless by forcing recalcitrant suburbs to permit the construction of open-access, affordable dwellings and encouraging the rehabilitation of urban housing. During the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan, a Republican from California, argued it was the government, not the private sector, that was responsible for the gross inequities in social and economic indicators between residents of city, inner ring, and outlying suburban communities. The civic, religious, consumer, labor, and other community-based organizations that tried to mitigate the adverse effects of the “Reagan Revolution” on the affordable housing market lacked a single coherent view or voice. Since that time, housing has become increasingly unaffordable in many metropolitan areas, and segregation by race, income, and ethnicity is on the rise once again. If the home mortgage crisis that began in 2007 is any indication, housing will continue to be a divisive political, economic, and social issue in the foreseeable future. The national housing goal of a “decent home in a suitable living environment for every American family” not only has yet to be realized, but many law makers now favor eliminating or further restricting federal commitment to its realization.


SAGE Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401880921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bakry Elmedni

In the opening of the 21st century, housing affordability was described by the U.S. Congress as the most urgent issue facing America. This article provides an analysis of how feasible Mayor de Blasio’s Five Borough Ten-Year Plan will be in providing adequate affordable housing to low-income residents in New York City (NYC). It examines three main topics: (a) the Plan’s focus on using the private sector to achieve public goals and whether this is likely to come with unintended consequences such as less focus on the needy and gentrification of struggling neighborhoods, (b) the role of the nonprofit sector, which has historically been a major player in housing policies in the NYC, and (c) how much influence or control a municipal government has on economic forces to avoid negative outcomes. The analysis reveals that while providing any number of affordable units is a positive thing, it is unreasonable to assume that this intervention alone can adequately address the housing affordability crisis in NYC. This article also exposes other emerging problems as the plan is being implemented. One major concern is that through tax credits and rezoning efforts to encourage private-sector development, the Plan may wind up benefiting housing developers and gentrifiers more than actually ameliorating the housing crisis in NYC. Housing affordability is a multifaceted issue which requires a multifaceted approach from federal and state governments working in tandem with local governments.


Author(s):  
Josephine M. Malonza ◽  
Nathan Kibwami ◽  
Philip O. Lawal

Housing and its affordability have, of recent, been of great concern to various stakeholders, especially in the developing world.  Consequently, contributing aspects such as construction/tenancy costs, sustainability, environmental impact, and availability of credit facilities with a host of other factors, have dominated contemporary research. Various studies suggest that addressing affordable housing requires understanding the contextual factors that impact affordability of housing. Such studies have not been known to succinctly treat  the context of Rwanda. This paper aimed at exploring the perspectives of housing affordability in Rwanda with a view of eliciting the status, challenges, and prospects. The objectives included description of the current status of housing, identifying the challenges of  providing affordable housing, and proposals of strategies to enhance its provision. Data, such as for workers’ salary, costs of house construction, inflationary trends and the number of housing units per income group, were sought for and obtained either from the  archives of various stakeholder organizations or by interviewing key officers concerned with housing. Descriptive statistics and thematic  analyses were employed in analyzing the data in order to fulfil the objectives of the study. It was found that home ownership and tenure statistics varied, yet housing demand was on the rise. Foremost challenges, among others, were recorded to be scarcity and costly plots of land, compounded with costly building materials. In addition, the purchasing power of the local currency depreciated fast over time, thereby making good quality housing unaffordable for the majority of Rwandans. Localizing policy to enhance public awareness, resolving the issue of high cost of construction materials, and coming up with innovative interventions on land costs, were among the key strategies to facilitate housing affordability.


Author(s):  
Don Amila Sajeevan Samarasinghe ◽  

Housing affordability is a prominent issue across the world. There is a growing concern that the number of people experiencing homelessness is rapidly increasing. As a solution, many countries, including Australia and New Zealand, have introduced housing policies aimed at providing affordable houses to low-to-medium income families. Over recent years, several affordable housing policies have been introduced in both Australia and New Zealand, including public housing initiatives, rental subsidies, accommodation supplements, state housing programmes and the provision of social housing. New Zealand launched the KiwiBuild programme in 2018 to increase housing affordability. Unfortunately, in 2019, KiwiBuild was unable to deliver its targeted primary objectives set by the Government. This study features a comparative analysis, primarily focusing on comparing and contrasting affordable housing policies in Australia and New Zealand. Subsequently, it discusses the reasons why the KiwiBuild programme failed. It makes recommendations based on policies used in Australia with a view to improving affordable housing policies in New Zealand. This research contributes and adds to the existing body of knowledge about affordable housing policies in both Australia and New Zealand. The recommendations will be helpful for future researchers who wish to develop workable policies to assist with affordable housing-related issues in New Zealand.


Author(s):  
Y. Ahmed ◽  
I. Sipan

Abstract. The implementation of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in housing provision in Nigeria meant to increase urban housing provision and address housing affordability and accessibility problems. Consequently, the study aims to identify the critical success factors of Public-private partnerships for affordable housing provision in Nigeria. However, the data were obtained using interviews with PPP experts to build the questionnaire for affordable housing in Nigeria. Overall, 254 responses were obtained and analysed using smart PLS to identify PPP success factors for affordable housing in Abuja. The result shows that good governance, availability of financial markets, Sound economic policies, consistency monetary, a commitment of public and private sectors are the key parameters of PPP for affordable housing in Nigeria. Therefore, the main contributions of the article indicate that strong government intervention, dependent of foreign building materials, easier access to mortgage institutions, and provision of land at no cost are the challenges to address in order to succeed in providing affordable housing in Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that a good design a framework should put in place in order to achieve the desired aim of providing affordable housing in Nigeria.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Agrawal

Adequate and affordable housing is a basic human need, and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), housing is treated as a right of every Emirati national. This study examines the efficacy of the two national housing programs in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah that provide subsidies for affordable homeownership—the Sheikh Zayed Housing Program (SZHP) and the President’s Initiative (PI). Beneficiaries of these two programs seem largely satisfied, but suggest improvement to the approval process, eligibility criteria, housing design and standards, and location decisions. Also, the growth spurred by the two programs, especially SZHP, has significantly shaped the current sprawling urban form of the Ras Al Khaimah municipality. The question of long-term sustainability of the two programs looms large, funded as they are entirely by the government, with little or no participation from the private or informal sector. To make housing programs financially and environmentally sustainable, every stakeholder must play a role: the federal government and the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah need to enable other sectors of the economy to participate in housing provision; the Ras Al Khaimah Municipality will have to strengthen and enforce its development standards; and, individual beneficiaries need to follow local plans, embrace sustainable practices of building and use the programs in a judicious way.


Author(s):  
Anutosh Das

Affordable Housing, the basic human necessity has now become a critical problem in global cities with direct impacts on people's well-being. While a well-functioning housing market may augment the economic efficiency and productivity of a city, it may trigger housing affordability issues leading crucial economic and political crises side by side if not handled properly. In global cities e.g. Singapore and Hong Kong where affordable housing for all has become one of the greatest concerns of the Government, this issue can be tackled capably by the provision of public housing. In Singapore, nearly 90% of the total population lives in public housing including public rental and subsidized ownership, whereas the figure tally only about 45% in Hong Kong. Hence this study is an effort to scrutinizing the key drivers of success in affordable public housing through following a qualitative case study based research methodological approach to present successful experience and insight from different socio-economic and geo-political context. As a major intervention, this research has clinched that, housing affordability should be backed up by demand-side policies aiming to help occupants and proprietors to grow financial capacity e.g. subsidized rental and subsidized ownership can be an integral part of the public housing system to improve housing affordability.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Samson Akinbamide Omobayo Adegoke ◽  
Tunde Agbola

Housing tenure choice is one key decision that a household must make. This decision has been established to have direct implications for household housing affordability. This research assessed and compared the housing affordability of owners and renters of organized Private Sector Housing delivery in Nigeria. Data were collected from eleven (11) states and the Federal Capital Territory across the six (6) geo-political zones of Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted with multi-stage sampling technique employed to select estates residents for interview. Structured questionnaire were administered on 10% (1,950) heads of households randomly selected from all the occupied houses. The study revealed that 48% of the residents were owners and 52% renters. It was discovered that more owners than renters are under severe housing affordability stress/burden. While 29% of owners enjoy “normal housing affordability” (housing expenditure of 1% - 30%), 41% of renters enjoyed such. Also, while 36% of owners enjoyed “tolerable housing affordability” (30.1% - 50% housing expenditure), 41% of the renters fall within that range. Furthermore, while 35% of owners are theoretically under severe housing affordability stress/burden (with >50% housing expenditure), only 18% of the renters are. The study confirmed that renters enjoyed better housing affordability than the owners. Major policy implications include the need for housing policy and delivery in Nigeria to recognize and facilitate rental housing while steps should be taken to relieve the burden of home ownership by working on mortgage penetration, cost of building materials and other incidental expenses of ownership so as to enhance housing affordability of Nigerians.


2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-81
Author(s):  
Abdul Lateef Olanrewaju ◽  
Arazi Idrus

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of the affordable housing shortage in the Greater Kuala Lumpur from the suppliers’ perspectives. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected through a cross-sectional survey questionnaire comprising 21 determinants and 111 experts in the housing industry. Findings The affordable housing shortages are consequences of regulations and policies on land allocations, building materials and the affordable housing market. The government should provide more lands to the developers or the government should directly build affordable housing on their lands. To lower the cost of construction, the government should reduce the importation tax and procedures, and the housing industry should find alternative building materials. Originality/value Theoretically, the research provided fresh insights into the causes of housing shortages and reasons for the increase in housing prices. The results will be useful to policymakers towards affordable housing delivery and to the developers and contractors on measures to increase profit margins and increase housing supply.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Norhayati BAHARUN ◽  
Suraya MASROM ◽  
Afiqah ROSHIDI

Increasing housing prices in Perak has made it difficult for homebuyers to own affordable housing. Housing affordability ensures that housing provided is affordable for every income group, especially the low and middle-income groups. It has brought the government and housing developers’ attention the issue of housing affordability by supplying public low-cost housing schemes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document