Estate agencies showcase housing schemes

Housing remains an integral part of the social and economic growth of a country although Ghana’s housing deficit currently remains over a million housing units amidst rapid population growth and rising urban population.
Accra, which is touted as the hub of modern housing units is currently characterised by a huge number of slums in areas such as Agbogbloshie, Ashaiman and other areas which is fast becoming a habitat for several rural migrants.
Meanwhile, the exquisite housing units which are located in prime areas appear a bit costly with a one bedroom expandable house costing as much as GH₵ 74,800, more than what the average Ghanaian can afford.
Governments housing supply to public sector workers through various housing loan schemes accounts for a minute amount of the total number of houses needed, with the large chunk resting on the private sector through the provision of mortgages and housing units to bridge the housing gap.
Government thus has to create an enabling environment for the private sector in its delivery of housing in Ghana.
As part of attempts to bring total housing solutions to prospective homeowners, mortgage finance experts, Ghana Home Loans (GHL) brought together captains of the real estate industry on April 27 and 28 at its annual housing  fair in Accra.
The two-day fair did not only attract real estate developers, but also saw contractors, merchants and some insurance companies participating, making the fair a one stop shop for complete housing solutions.
It also provided a platform for industry players to meet and interact with clients as well as exhibit and sell their products.
The April fair, which is the first in the series of fairs organised by GHL witnessed scores of potential home owners thronging the venue to get answers to their questions as well as establishing links for further relations beyond the fair.
Some of the exhibiting companies included Blue Rose Limited, Salem Estates, NTHC, Lakeside Estates, Legonman Multi-Concept Limited, RSS Developers, Cedars, Kimo Homes, GLIICO, Starlife Assurance and Devtraco.
Exhibitors at the fair on the first day appeared content with patronage as people did not only come for formality but showed much interest in the products and services they were offering.
At the Blue Rose Limited stand, construction company located in Kasoa, Head of Marketing, Ms Agnes Ama Moses was on hand with her team to provide in-depth information on their products which were mainly houses.
She took the various patrons through various procedures on how they can acquire homes from the real estate company.
She also hinted that plans were far advanced for the company to extend their service beyond Kasoa to other part of the regions.
The general atmosphere at the fair was an exciting one. When the GRAPHIC BUSINESS got to the fairgrounds around 2:00pm, lots of patrons were seen walking into the fair and visiting various stands set up by the exhibiting companies.
A patron, Ms Mathilda Ewura Amma Addo could not hide her excitement about the fair, which she described as “one stop shop for all housing needs.”
She said this was not her first time of participating in the fair but on the whole this year’s edition was one of the finest.
The Business Development Analyst of Ghana Home Loans, Mr Michael Obeng, said their housing fair was a target focused fair for housing related businesses to help the stakeholders in the real estate industry reach out to their clients better.
He said the company deployed several advertising means to get patrons to patronize the fair which he touted as “the best fair in terms of housing.”
According to him, feedback from exhibitors showed an increase in their client portfolio and was thus optimistic this year’s edition would yield more results than anticipated.
Some insurance companies who were present at the fair were also on hand to introduce their policies that can help people acquire properties through investments.
Home furnishing companies like Furniture City were also present at the fair as well as suppliers of paints and decorative wall coatings for homes.
The second edition for the year is slated for the last quarter of 2013.