Nicholas Addai Boamah

The regulatory environment and housing finance market in Ghana

Purpose – The housing finance market in Ghana is highly underdeveloped. This may be as a result of unfriendly or poor regulatory environment. This paper seeks to examine the regulatory environment and to determine its impact on the development of the formal housing finance market in the country.Design/methodology/approach – The paper executes this by surveying the housing finance literature. It also carries out a review of the legal framework of the countrys mortgage market.Findings – It is found that inadequate foreclosure rights of lenders before December 2008 constrained the development of the formal housing finance market in Ghana. The research notes that the enactment of the Home Mortgage Finance Act, 2008 (Act 770) in December 2008 has created a conducive legal environment for collateralised lending in the country. This has improved the prospects of developing the housing finance market in the country.Practical implications – It is noted that a credit bureau industry and mortgage refinancing mechan...

Housing for the vulnerable in the Offinso South Municipality of Ghana

Purpose – Housing decay is a major feature of all the cities and towns in Ghana. This paper aims to investigate the condition of housing in the older neighbourhoods of the Offinso South Municipality (OSM), in the Asante region of Ghana.Design/methodology/approach – The study employed questionnaires to collect empirical data from households and property owners in the studied neighbourhoods. These data were then analysed, and interpreted using some knowledge of local culture and beliefs. Houses are of cultural significance in Ghana; they serve the needs of the living, the dead and future generations.Findings – The research finds that most households in the older neighbourhoods of the OSM live in housing deprivation. The most affected are children and the elderly in the neighbourhoods. But the poor housing is in part a consequence of attitudes toward property management and a weakening social system that hitherto supported the vulnerable in society.Originality/value – The paper recommends that the municipal ...

The impact of households characteristics on the state of housing in the Offinso South Municipality (OSM), Ghana

Housing deprivation is a major problem confronting Ghanaian households both in the urban and rural environments. This paper investigates the housing condition in the Offinso South Municipality (OSM). It finds out the adequacy of housing to households in the municipality. It sampled eight neighbourhoods in the OSM for data collection. Questionnaires were employed to garner empirical data from the households and property owners in the OSM. The paper finds out that there is high room occupancy rate and high household and population concentration in the housing units in the OSM. It notes that characteristics such as the level of education, authorization status of the house, annual household income, household size and autochthony correlate with measures of housing adequacy. The paper suggests that the municipal authority put in place appropriate standards to guide developers on the minimum acceptable housing facilities. Also, the municipal authority should adopt innovative approaches to encourage voluntary compliance to its building regulations.

The Price of Risk on the African Frontier Stock Markets

ABSTRACT The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), and the Fama-French and Carhart models have been widely applied in the developed and most emerging markets; however, there is scant evidence of the viability of the models on the African Frontier Stock Markets (AFSMs). This study examines the viability of the models for a sample that pools securities across nine AFSMs, and whether or not the risk factors of these models command risk premium on the AFSMs. The paper provides evidence of the existence of the size, value and momentum effects on the AFSMs. In addition, the models only partly capture the returns to size and book-to-market sorted portfolios on the AFSMs. Also, the risk factors of these models generally, command marginally significant premium on the AFSMs. Caution should in general be exercised when applying these models on the AFSMs.

Challenges to Property Rate Administration in the Offinso South Municipality, Ghana

ABSTRACT Decentralized governments in Ghana have not been able to realize optimum benefits from their property tax potentials. The paper investigates the administration of property taxation in Ghana using the Offinso South Municipality (OSM) as a study area. Questionnaires were relied on to garner data from property owners in the municipality. It observed that low coverage and collection ratios, inadequate collection modes, and negative public perceptions have worked against the administration of property tax in the OSM. The paper suggests a complete overhaul of the property rate regime in the OSM if the buoyancy of property tax revenue is to be realized. It argues that the rating authority should purge the system of perceived corruptions. It suggests a revamp of the property rate collection means in order to slump rent seeking behavior of the mobile property rate collectors.