ABSTRACT

High mortgage repayment-to-income ratios and unavailability of adequate and secured collateral are major setbacks for low-income households in accessing housing finance. This notwithstanding, few studies have examined housing finance strategies that are available to low-income households within a secondary city context amidst the complexities of customary land tenure. This study examined the housing finance strategies adopted by low-income households in Kumasi, Ghana and suggested alternative strategies under informal tenure. The mixed methods approach was adopted, using a survey of randomly selected households and semi-structured interviews of financial institutions. From the data analyses, the findings suggest that low-income households are priced out of formal mortgage markets, and hence they relied on the incremental building process. This approach is unsustainable and inefficient because it takes longer periods to complete, and such houses lack basic sanitary amenities. To mitigate the situation, there is the need for government social housing drives using cheaper and locally produced building materials as a long-term measure. In the short-term, urban poor can rely on rental housing options for their housing needs. There is also the need to create serviced neighborhoods in the peri-urban fringes of the city to supply cheaper and accessible housing parcels for the poor.

摘要

高抵押贷款还款与收入比率以及缺乏足够和有保障的抵押品是低收入家庭获得住房融资的主要障碍。尽管如此，在传统土地使用权的复杂性中，很少有研究研究在二级城市背景下低收入家庭可用的住房融资策略。本研究考察了加纳库马西低收入家庭采用的住房融资策略，并提出了非正规保有权下的替代策略。采用混合方法，对随机选择的住户进行调查，并对金融机构进行半结构化访谈。从数据分析来看，研究结果表明，低收入家庭的价格超出了正规抵押贷款市场，因此他们依赖于增量建设过程。这种方法不可持续且效率低下，因为它需要更长的时间才能完成，而且此类房屋缺乏基本的卫生设施。为了缓解这种情况，作为一项长期措施，政府需要使用更便宜的当地生产的建筑材料来推动社会住房建设。在短期内，城市贫民可以依靠出租房屋来满足他们的住房需求。还需要在城市周边地区建立服务性社区，为穷人提供更便宜、更容易获得的住房。城市贫民可以依靠出租房屋来满足他们的住房需求。还需要在城市周边地区建立服务性社区，为穷人提供更便宜、更容易获得的住房。城市贫民可以依靠出租房屋来满足他们的住房需求。还需要在城市周边地区建立服务性社区，为穷人提供更便宜、更容易获得的住房。