Real Estate Developers Wants Regulatory Body

Mr. Ibrahim Bah, the Managing Director of Regimanuel Gray Limited (RGL) -- a leading real estate developer, has called for the speedily establishment of a regulatory body to help restore confidence in the built industry. 

 

“I must say that currently we don’t have a good regulator within the housing and the real estate industry, so a lot of the new entrants are actually building houses which really do not conform to good standards. When we are talking of housing, it must incorporate all the infrastructure and the other facilities to make living in a proper gated community worth a while.

“Some industry players have actually been compromising standards in housing over the years, and the Ghanaian public is not aware of this. It’s all about cost; it’s just the cost of the houses they consider,” he said.

Concerns have often been raised about poor quality of work by some estate developers in the country. A number of estate houses springing up in recent times have been identified as lacking standards, with many delivery defects including poor drainage systems, bad roads, poor utility connections, no beautification -- and sometimes no security. 

Developers usually promise to develop recreational centres in their estates, only to end up building on every available parcel of land. 

Other industry players thus see the introduction of a regulator as a positive step toward improving standards. 

Speaking with B&FT in an interview in Accra, Mr. Bah said: “The establishment of a regulatory body is very important because of the proliferation of real estate developers in the country.

“If we don’t have a strict regulatory body to ensure standards, the country will end-up having sub-standard houses built with poor quality materials. Home buyers must be protected; those players that are giving the industry a bad name will find their way out of the system,” he said.

Currently, it is estimated that the country has a housing deficit of 1.7million units, requiring an annual supply of 700,000 units; but research by Habitat for Humanity, a not-for-profit home builder, indicates that the country does between 40,000 to 45,000 housing units per year -- of which only three percent is provided by established real estate developers. 

The real estate industry has however seen a lot of growth in recent years, and the prospects for the industry are said to be huge. The demand for housing, which has exceeded supply for more than four decades, has put a strain on the existing housing stock and infrastructure -- causing deterioration in housing structures and unsanitary conditions in squatter and slum areas of the urban centres.

Reassuring prospective homeowners of its Katamanso project, Mr. Bah said it is poised to deliver cutting -housing solutions to its varied clientele in and out of the country.

“As is obvious from the range of houses types at our various estates, we strive to cater for the widest range of income groups -- contrary to the erroneous impression that the company is only interested in the affluent.”

He revealed that its latest development is expected to add 500 housing units to the country’s housing stock, with an additional 17,000 housing units made up of single-family and multi-family houses to be constructed.

“Over the years we have developed an integrated approach to diversify our business, and in pursuance of this we have set up industries related to our mainline business of estate development.

He said the master-plan of the Katamanso project, a 1,300-land, is expected to have facilities such as schools, recreational centres, hospitals, worship centres among others. 

“We are talking of billions of dollars as far as a housing project is concerned in the country. It should be one of the biggest projects as far as housing projects in the country is concerned. If you buy one of our houses it is for a lifetime,” he assured prospective home buyers.

Regimanuel Gray Limited was established in 1991 and has become the premier real estate developer in the West Africa sub-region. Headquartered in Accra, the Regimanuel Gray Group of Companies’ core business is the planning and development of residential communities.

In addition to real estate development, the Group excels in general construction, civil construction, road construction, building materials manufacturing and management services.

Regimanuel Gray is an international company with Ghanaian, American and international equity partners. Through its subsidiaries, the company is currently active in the Liberia and Sierra Leone real estate markets.

The Group has over 500 professionals dedicated to providing the highest calibre of service to clients, providing over 2,500 homes to satisfied customers within many master-planned communities, and homes to 17,500 people.

The company offers a mix of affordable and executive properties to cater for a wide range of prospective homeowners. While historically providing single-family dwellings, the company is embarking on the development of multi-family apartment projects to suit the evolving urban markets.

With offices in the United Kingdom, USA and Sierra Leone, the company has built close to 5,000 residential homes in Ghana over the past 24 years.

This remarkable achievement can be observed from its developed estates at Community 14, 15, 18, 19; East Airport; and its current project sites at Kwabenya, Katamanso, Klagon and Community 13.