Relationship between Challenges Militating against Mortgage Finance and Benefits of Mortgage Acquisition in Ghana: Case of SSNIT

Past studies on the mortgage market of Ghana evidenced that absence of long-term sources of housing funds, low-income levels, macroeconomic instability, inability to assess the creditworthiness of prospective mortgagors among others plague the development of Ghana’s mortgage market. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between challenges militating against mortgage finance and benefits of mortgage acquisition in Ghana. Questionnaires were used to elicit responses from respondents. Convenience sampling technique was used to select one hundred (100) respondents comprising staff at SSNIT Head Office in Accra, SSNIT contributors, beneficiaries of SSNIT funds, mortgage applicants, owners and occupants of SSNIT flats. Mean score ranking, Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient, one sample t-test and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) were the analytical tools adopted. Dollarization of mortgage markets, access to funding for the scheme, macroeconomic instability and inability to assess creditworthiness of mortgage applicant were the most significant challenges. The most significant benefits were: (1) increase in the rate of house construction; (2) ability to provide a relatively low-interest credit; (3) capacity to mitigate housing deficits; and (4) capability to provide a relatively long-term credit for housing. Structural Equation Model was developed to evaluate the relationship between the challenges and benefits. The study is beneficial to stakeholders such as policymakers, financial institutions, Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) and SSNIT contributors. This work is a pioneering study in Ghana on the relationship between challenges SSNIT encounters in mortgage financing and benefits of acquiring mortgage facilities with the assistance of SSNIT.

Housing Demand, Financial Markets and Taxation

In Chapter 7, fiscal and monetary policies are considered and particular attention is paid to structural changes in mortgage finance markets. From the early 1980s the UK experienced two periods of strong mortgage growth: the first lasted until the recession of the early 1990s and the second started in the mid-1990s and ended with the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). However, a distinguishing feature of the GFC period was the fall in mortgage advances, which has never been fully reversed. Credit tightening causes particular problems for first-time buyers as compared to the majority of current owners; the latter typically have sufficient equity in their existing properties, which they can use to finance further purchases. Therefore, the decline in credit availability has had important distributional effects. Accumulated equity also provides an advantage for existing owners entering the expanded Buy to Let market. Similarly, the stress tests that borrowers now have to undertake fall primarily on aspiring first-time buyers and those with volatile incomes. The chapter also considers non-neutralities in the property tax system which can discriminate against first-time buyers.

Canada

This Technical Note on Financial Safety Net and Crisis Management for the Canada focuses on housing finance. Housing finance is broadly resilient, but pockets of vulnerabilities exist. Mortgage finance is dominated by domestic systemically important financial institutions (D-SIFIs) and supported by the government via mortgage insurance, securitization guarantees, and other policies. With a market share of about 70 percent, D-SIFIs focus on prime borrowers, and their lending is backed by their strong balance sheets. The cost of prime mortgage financing is low and little differentiated, with credit risk being under-priced in some segments. Aspects of Canada’s mortgage finance may amplify procyclical effects of falling house prices during severe downturns. Core lenders focus on low-risk mortgage lending. In response to deteriorating household debt-servicing capacity, they may constrain new lending or renewals of maturing uninsured mortgages, potentially adding pressures on the housing market. Alternatively, a sudden adoption of risk-based pricing to accommodate financially weak borrowers might amplify household debt servicing fragility.

Creating a Development Bank to Finance Affordable Housing in South Africa is a Timely Catalyst to Address Demand and Supply Challenges

The twin problems of affordability and accessibility that hamper the progress of housing in our country need to be addressed on a sustainable basis and the state needs to take on the role as a facilitator to create the enabling environment to encourage greater private sector participation. As a consequence, it is quite opportune to establish the Human Settlements Development Bank (HSDB). The mortgage finance affordability challenge is also attributable to key essential drivers, namely; house price index, disposable income, and the mortgage interest rates.

FEATURES OF MORTGAGE FINANCE IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

This article examines the features of the mortgage lending market development in Germany. The types and classifications of mortgage products are analyzed in detail. After analyzing the essence of the system of long-term residential real estate lending, we can analyze the dependence on the development of credit products and the growth in lending. Also, a separate section in the article considers financial costs and features of tax legislation

Analysis of the factors influencing access to mortgage finance in Lagos, Nigeria

Finance is the bedrock of real estate development. Its availability and accessibility are important for a successful investment. In most cases, investors don’t have substantial finance to execute a project; instead, they resort to an external source through mortgage financing. However, there are difficulties in accessing mortgage finance particularly due to borrower’s default, thereby hindering finance accessibility. This study investigates factors determining mortgage finance accessibility for providing real estate projects in Lagos State, Nigeria. The target populations are the Primary Mortgage Institutions and Real Estate Developers in Lagos State. The collected data were analysed using factor analysis and Mann-Whitney U test. The study revealed that income, nature of the occupation, type of collateral, years of the banking relationship, loan duration and loan sector are the major determinants of access to mortgage finance. These factors must be succinctly considered to ensure ease of access, adequate provision and utilisation for real estate development. Keywords: Collateral, determinants, finance, investors, mortgage.