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Prices of residential property in Accra and some major cities across the country have risen sharply on the back of a weakening local currency as well as other economic factors, Business Finder can confirm. In a period of 20 months [January 2014 to August 2015], prices of houses have soared as high as 60 per cent in cedi terms [even though they remain virtually stable in dollar terms], making it very difficult for Ghanaians to own homes. For instance, a one-bedroom house real estate companies were selling for GH�92,000 (US$40,000) in January 2014 now sells at GH�168,000 (US$42,000). An average 3-bedroom house is currently selling at GH�520,000 (US$130,000). The same unit was selling at an average of GH�287,500 (US$125,000) in January 2014 when the cedi-dollar rate was GH�2.3. Both represent an increment of over 80 per cent. According to the Executive Director of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), Samuel Amegayibor, majority of the challenges that the real estate sector faces stem from the depreciation of the cedi. He said the depreciation of the local currency makes the real estate business very difficult and unpredictable, lamenting that �It is not our fault, if we do not review our prices regularly, we would lose capital and even in many cases our profits diminish.� �It is not in our interest to dollarize the economy. The solution is to make our currency stable. We should not fight the battle from the top but rather the bottom. It is difficult for real estate companies to price in cedi when their inputs are dollar-denominated,� Mr Amegayibor said. The cedi has lost over 70 per cent of its value against the US dollar since the beginning of 2014. The currency was trading at GH�2.30 to a dollar in January 2014 but now trades at GH�4.00. The price of cement, the most commonly used building material in Ghana, has also gone up by almost 58 per cent within the 20 months � from GH�19 a bag in January 2014 to GH�30 now. The trend was no different for houses advertised on e-marketing portal, Tonaton.com. Prices of homes advertised by individual sellers have gone up by at least 40 per cent on average, based on a comparison Business Finder made of present prices and prices as at January 2014. Prices of houses in Accra�s less expensive neighbourhoods including Kwabenya, Adenta, Bortianor, Agbogba, Pokuase, Amasaman and Madina, have gone up by about 42 per cent. Homes at Kwabenya, Adenta, Bortianor, and Agbogba which sold for about GH�250,000 on average in January 2014 are now going for GH�350,000 (US$87,500). At Pokuase, Amasaman and Madina, where homes sold for an average of GH�210,000, home buyers are now having to pay GH�300,000 (US$75,000). Prices of homes in Accra�s most expensive addresses including Airport Residential Area, Cantonments and Labone which were selling for GH�1,200,000 then, now hover around GH�1,600,000 (US$400,000). Other expensive areas in the city which include East Legon and Spintex have also witnessed a big jump in the value of their residential property. Average homes which were going for GH�750,000 and GH�600,000 in both vicinities respectively, now sell for about GH�1,000,000 (US$250,000) at East Legon and GH�800,000 (US$195,122) at Spintex. Mr Amegayibor explained that: �If you look at the business production cycle, from the time you start producing a product till the time you finish; when you sell it, you should be able to replace it. So if you do not keep adjusting prices [even though no additional cost is incurred], you are going to have a deficit and a drop in capital when you finally sell.� One home seller [name withheld] who had advertised a newly built 5-bedroom house at Spintex on Tonaton.com and selling for GH�750,000 told Business Finder that he was even selling at a lower price because the economy was slow. According to him, even though he would not make any losses selling at GH�750,000, he would have loved to sell at a higher price because of the daily increases in the prices of building materials. �I am selling this house because I am building a new one at Airport Residential Area. Even though I completed this house late last year when the cedi to dollar rate was GH�3.20, I want to sell it as if the rate were GH�4.50,� he said. This he explained was to make up for forex losses he could incur when reinvesting into the construction of his new home at Airport residential area. In other major cities of the country, home prices have not risen that much. In Ghana�s second largest city, Kumasi, prices of 3-bedroom houses now linger around GH�260,000 (US$65,000) from about GH�200,000 in January 2014. In Sekondi-Takoradi, the price of an average house is now going for GH�250,000 (US$62,500) from GH�180,000, an almost 40 per cent increase which could be attributed to growth of the twin city�s economy following the oil production in 2010. Cape Coast has the cheapest houses in Ghana, with current average prices of a 3-bedroom house at GH�170,000 (US$42,500) from GH�140,000 in January 2014, representing a 21 per cent increase. According to Mr Amegayibor, who called for incentives and tax holidays for the sector, things would even get worse if government�s proposed five per cent VAT on the sector comes into effect. There is a need to check the cedi�s volatility which affects almost every aspect of the construction and real estate sectors of the economy. This, when done, would make homes affordable for the average Ghanaian.