A section of the youth at the seminar
GHL Bank has revealed that most of its mortgage customers are Ghanaians living in the country.
This is contrary to popular belief that non-resident Ghanaians have high appetite for mortgages.
The trend also demonstrates the growing interest and demand for mortgages by young professionals looking to own homes, while also it proved that mortgages were not the preserve of offshore Ghanaians.
Richmond Asante, Head, Mortgage Origination, who disclosed this at the annual Developers Seminar in Accra, said most mortgage customers were males in their 30s and 40s from the finance, IT and mining sectors.
He said only 2% of mortgage customers were under 30 years old although young people showed great interest in mortgages.
Highlights of the seminar included a talk by Dr. Kwadwo Ohene Sarfoh, international Urban Development Specialist on how players in the industry could 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 assume a ‘build and they will come’ mindset although the country was facing a housing deficit.
He complained about the industry’s trend whereby houses were built but failed to meet the needs of the populace or fell out of their purchasing power.
He stressed the 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.
Samuel Amegayibor, Executive Secretary of GREDA, urged developers to implement policies that would protect and promote the growth of industry.