For many Ghanaians, building a house is less a project with a fixed completion date and more of a long-term financial journey. One year, the foundation goes up. Another year, the walls rise. Then construction may stop for months or even years until enough money is available to continue.

The result is usually a housing market where it can take an average of 10 years for Ghanaians to complete their homes,

The National Housing Fund (NHFL) says the prolonged construction period is closely linked to the way most homes are financed in Ghana. About 90% of housing delivery is self-financed, meaning individuals largely depend on their salaries, business income, savings and other personal resources to construct their homes gradually.

Here is a detailed breakdown of how all these works by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Housing Fund (NHFL), Prosper Hoetu

The mortgage gap

The scale of the financing challenge becomes clearer when Ghana's mortgage market is considered. Mortgage penetration in Ghana stands at just 0.3% of GDP, according to the NHF.

This means formal mortgage financing plays only a limited role in helping Ghanaians acquire homes, leaving households to carry much of the financial burden themselves.

For someone earning a monthly salary, this often means construction has to compete with rent, school fees, food, transportation, healthcare and other household expenses.

A house therefore gets built according to what is left after other obligations have been met. And that can take years.

When income is not enough to qualify

The problem is even more pronounced for people who earn their livelihoods outside the formal economy. Hoetu says many informal-sector workers may have the income to support a mortgage but struggle to meet the documentation requirements of conventional lenders.

A trader, for example, may have a thriving business but no payslip. A self-employed worker may earn money consistently but lack the banking history required by a mortgage provider.

That leaves a significant group of potential homeowners outside the formal housing finance system.

The NHFL says about 60% of Ghanaians who require financial assistance to own homes fall within this broad financing challenge.

The cost to the housing market

The consequences extend beyond individual households. When people take years to complete houses, the supply of completed homes grows more slowly.

The NHFL estimates that the formal real estate sector currently delivers only about 10% of Ghana's housing needs, placing much of the responsibility for housing delivery on individuals.

This creates a cycle: households struggle to access affordable long-term financing, construction happens gradually, completed housing enters the market slowly, and the country's housing needs continue to grow.

Hoetu says breaking that cycle will require a housing finance system capable of reaching more Ghanaians.

A cheaper mortgage

The NHFL is betting on cheaper financing to help change the situation. The Fund has resumed lending under its National Mortgage Scheme at an interest rate of 8.4%, significantly lower than the previous 13.5% rate.

Developer financing has also been reduced to 10.4%. Mr Hoetu says the lower mortgage rate has already generated significant interest, with more prospective homeowners applying for financing and several financial institutions expressing interest in participating in the programme.

But the increased demand also presents a financing challenge for the NHF. The Fund says it needs to increase its investment in the scheme to accommodate more applicants.

More than a housing problem

For the NHF, the case for expanding housing finance goes beyond helping individuals get their keys. A more active housing finance market could unlock spending across construction, building materials, financial services, engineering, architecture, real estate and other parts of the economy.

The bigger question for Ghana's housing market, therefore, may not simply be how many houses the country needs to build. It is how quickly Ghanaians can move from buying land and starting construction to actually having the financial capacity to finish the homes they have spent years trying to build.