Greetings and Happy New Year. The past year has been a rollercoaster for many people and businesses. We have all been forced to evaluate our operating practices and strategies. At Beaufort Properties, we have also taken time to reflect on where the industry is going both in the short and long term. We have a wide visibility on the market through our management of over around 150 units directly and a further 250 units indirectly through our associate company, Willows Property Management.
Below is a summary of some of the emerging trends we have picked up on:
• Accra exhibits dual submarkets with prime (rents in USD) and Low-middle income (rents in GH¢)
• Downward pressure on dollarized rents in Prime Accra (down 5 -10 %)
• Low-middle income rents typically indexed to inflation. 1-2 year upfront rent payment required.
• Co-existence of oversupply with undersupply in Accra’s housing market
• Mismatch in demand and supply in certain sub-sectors
• Oversupply in 3 bed apartments vs Undersupply in smaller units
• Slowdown in Short lets will put temporary pressure on yields for smaller units but expect recovery long term
• A crash in near term is highly unlikely: Global Real Estate bubbles have needed Debt/Leverage. Very little debt in Ghana Housing
• We believe mortgage buyers constitute less than 10% of Home Buyers
• Mortgage to GDP ratio less than 1% of GDP
• Push & Pull dynamics on Supply side: Slow pace of construction and Cultural aversion to selling offset new capital inflows and current construction boom
• Short term: Market corrections through changes in rent and occupancy levels
Quick Takeaways:
Flight to Quality in Accra Housing Market
Short term shocks mean buy for long term
Real estate always does well in emerging markets as an inflation and forex hedge
Please note the above trends are simply based on our opinion and observation of residential rental and sales across various parts of Accra. In response to these trends, we are also creating new floor-plans and apartment types to reflect these developments.
For instance, in Tribute House, Airport Residential, we have designed flexible floor plates with 3 beds that can be converted into separate one and two bed units.
In addition, with the compression in short term rents, we have focused on value for money apartments centered on functional design, modern and durable fixtures and fittings. Below are our three projects for 2021:
Tribute House
Trinity @ Riviera
