Public Policy And Property Market Development In Africa

Property markets in Africa are products of different economic regimes with incongruent characteristics that determine their attractiveness to local and international investors. Each market is, as a result, unique in terms of development and maturity but operates in a regional and global competition. Despite the importance of property to the total value of capital stock and investment flows, there are only a few sources which attempt to measure the total value of property stocks, or their size in comparison with other tangible or intangible assets, across countries at different stages of economic development. Meanwhile, property is a large element of total capital stocks, and of total personal and corporate wealthBoth information sources and published literature on African property markets are, on the whole, limited. The lack of property data and performance indicators in the continent is not only surprising but also suggests an urgent need to build the requisite structures and develop market intermediaries now or never.This paper therefore seeks to promote, as far as possible, an agenda for a robust quantitative measure of property values and trends in Africa. Using Ghana as a case study, it is established that public policy may be required to develop property performance indicators. And it is copiously demonstrated that property information services can generate substantial revenues through direct sales of information, or licensing access to data. The paper concludes that it is time for Africa to stimulate the attractiveness of its property markets.