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The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) has raised concerns about the limited involvement of foreign real estate developers in the association, describing the situation as a major challenge to its growth and impact in the industry.
Speaking during the inauguration of GREDA’s Executive Council Standing Committees and a Stakeholder Forum, the President of the association, Dr. James Orleans-Lindsay, revealed that despite numerous efforts to engage foreign developers, their interest and participation remain minimal.
“There are large-scale construction projects happening across the country, many of which are led by foreign companies,” Dr. Orleans-Lindsay noted. “However, most of these major players are not affiliated with GREDA, and that’s a serious concern. We’ve reached out multiple times, but our attempts to get them involved have either been ignored or declined.”
He further disclosed that GREDA has discovered through internal reviews that a significant amount of capital is being moved out of the local economy. According to him, this outflow of funds could have been reinvested locally to support Ghanaian developers and enhance national development.
“This is not just about association membership,” he explained. “It’s about economic impact. The financial resources being exported could instead be used to empower local developers and strengthen our economy.”
Dr. Orleans-Lindsay also touched on the issue of property pricing, noting that despite the recent strengthening of the Ghanaian cedi against the US dollar, the prices of construction inputs such as cement and iron rods have remained high. As a result, there hasn’t been a meaningful reduction in property prices.
“For instance, a property that used to cost ¢1.6 million is now priced at about ¢900,000, which reflects the cedi’s gains. But developers haven’t adjusted prices much because material costs haven’t dropped accordingly,” he said.
In a related announcement, Irene Odokai Messibah, Director of Policy Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the Ministry of Works and Housing, stated that the ministry is in the process of reviewing the Rent Control Act along with its related Legislative Instrument.
She indicated that this review aims to pave the way for the full implementation of the Real Estate Agency Council Act, which is expected to create a more transparent, efficient, and investor-friendly regulatory framework for Ghana’s real estate industry.
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