GREDA pushes simplified permits and new financing to tackle housing deficit

The strain created by rapid urban growth demands bold and immediate interventions to bridge the mounting housing shortfall, now estimated at more than two million units.

This has intensified pressure on government to rethink how the sector is regulated and financed.

The Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) president, Dr James Orleans-Lindsay, is therefore calling for simplified permitting processes, expanding access to land and broadening financing options through tools such as real estate investment trusts.

Dr Orleans-Lindsay made this remarks at the 2025 GREDA Awards and Dinner in Accra recently, where he described the 24-hour economy as “a potential game-changer” for the sector.

With firm government backing, developers can scale up affordable housing delivery through public-private partnerships, strengthen essential services including water and sanitation, spur job creation across the construction chain and promote greener building practices, he added.

To this end, GREDA is ready to partner with government in advancing aspirations of the 24-hour economy policy.

The Presidential Advisor on the 24-hour Economy, Dr Goosie Tanoh, likewise acknowledged that lack of affordable, decent housing remains one of the country’s most pressing challenges.

Dr Tanoh warned that the deepening housing crisis is fuelling a wider set of social pressures. Each year, more than 200,000 young people arrive in cities seeking accommodation and work, while others are forced into overcrowded households or dwellings without basic facilities.

“We cannot expand production, run efficient services or support growing industries when workers cannot find decent and affordable homes near their jobs,” he noted.

A sustained, affordable housing boom, he argues, will ease pressure across society and help reverse years of negative trends.