Ghana Home Loans (GHL) the leading mortgage service provider in Ghana has held its maiden Real Estate Club (REC) summit for tertiary students from the various GHL Real Estate Clubs nationwide.  GHL has the club set in six major tertiary Institutions -University of Ghana Legon, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ashesi University, University of Professional Studies (UPS) and University of Cape Coast (UCC) as well as the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ).

The summit which was opened by Sylvia Adobea Adadey the Business Development Manager of Ghana Home Loans was under the theme, “Driving the Real Estate Club and the housing industry forward”.

Sylvia said “GHL Real Estate Club was established in October 2010 to fill a void by increasing awareness of career development and investment opportunities in the real estate industry for young individuals.”

Educating students about Real Estate Industry through forums, presentations, property tours and exhibition, job opportunities in the real estate Industry and the provision of network of professionals were some of the key issues she addressed.

She also disclosed that Ghana Home Loans has disbursed over $180 mm to some 3,000 households across the country making GHL the leader in the residential mortgage finance market with over 50% share of loans outstanding.

Another speaker at the summit was Dansoaa Siaw-Misa, Sales Manager of Appolonia who presented a paper on “Appolonia’s vision to provide world class infrastructure within a master planned and self-sustaining community” case study Appolonia.  She pointed out that a mixed- use urban development which comprise light industrial facilities, residential properties, retail and commercial centres as well as schools, healthcare and other social infrastructure is the way forward.

Digital marketing manager of Devtraco estates  Fidel Amoah, Speaking on ‘Investing in real estate in Ghana”, explained that real estate investment presents one with zero risk as the physical property will still be available (with property insurance cover) should the unexpected happen.

One could rent out or be able to release equity through a mortgage finance firm like Ghana Home Loans to fund a business etc.

He also added that “People in the low-end bracket of the housing Industry market are forced to translate their housing purchase demand in the market into accommodation rental in the middle-income bracket, thus over the years the demand for house purchase and rental has accumulated a deficit of about 1,700,000 units plus an annual demand of about 150,000 units with just an average supply 40,000 units per year. He, therefore, advised that with all these facts it is definitely worth the risk to invest in real estate in Ghana.

The REC summit is in line with GHL’s vision to provide a networking platform for the students from the various tertiary institutions and also to create a platform for the students to learn more about the housing industry.

Representatives from member institutions were given a chance to speak on their expectations on joining the Real Estate Club and their challenges and recommendations.

The Summit ended with a site tour to Appolonia city and a presentation of certificates.