The cost of building a house in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, is not a piece of cake. Depending on the housing type, specifications and location, it could cost over 156,000 Ghana Cedis. But that was in 2015/2016. Many families take several years to complete building their homes because of the exorbitant cost. The building costs vary greatly depending on whether you’re self-building, contracting a developer, or builder. Of course, given the same house, developer-built is typically more expensive than self-building, all things being equal. In 2022, the same home will cost 293,895.32 to build.
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But how much exactly does it cost to build a typical house in Kumasi?
A house with 46 sq. metres and a 9 sq. metres balcony will cost about 40,000 USD. In 2015/2016, this was equivalent to 156,000 Ghana Cedis. In 2022, it is 293,895 Ghana Cedis.
But these costs do greatly vary.
For further details, keep reading.
Description of the house used for the estimates
The cost estimates presented here were compiled by the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAFH). The house comprised of 46 sq. metres with a 9 sq. metre balcony (a total of 55 sq. metres). It was designed by an architect to be acceptable to mortgage finance companies. It has maxi block walls, steel windows, plastered and painted interior and exterior, with floor tiles and insulated ceiling. The kitchen is fitted with a sink unit and under-surface cupboards. The main bedroom has a built-in wardrobe.
A detailed breakdown of costs of building a 55 sq. metre house in Kumasi, Ashanti Region
The CAFH survey was conducted between 2015 and 2016. So obviously, the data is old. But the costs were estimated in USD, making it still relevant today even with the currency depreciation against the US Dollar, inflation, and other price increases over the years. More importantly, this data indicates how expensive housing construction has become.
| Cost | Cost (USD, 2016) | Cost (Ghana Cedis, 2016) | Current Cost (Ghana Cedis, 2022) |
| Land | 2,632 | 10,291 | 19,345.2 |
| Infrastructure | 2,410 | 9,423 | 17,713.5 |
| Construction | 28,825 | 112,706 | 211,863.8 |
| Compliance | 184 | 719 | 1,352.4 |
| Other development costs | 5,959 | 23,300 | 43,798.65 |
| Total | 40,010 | 156,439 | 294,073.5 |
Source: Based on CAHF (2016)
At the time, the US dollar was about 3.91 cedis. Currently, the US Dollar is trading for about 7.35 Ghana Cedis in the open markets. So in 6 years, that same house now costs 88% more to build in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
In 2016, a bag of Ghacem cement (50kg) was sold for 30 Ghana Cedis. Today, it sells for about 56 Ghana Cedis.
These are nominal values as we have not accounted for inflation.
What do you think about these costs?
Kojo also wants to build his house
The construction costs, the largest cost one incurs in building a house in Ghana, consist of materials (US$14,227), labour (US$7,636) and other indirect costs (US$6,967).
In building a house, materials, labour, and other indirect costs are where most of your finance will be spent on.
The Major cost categories
Click here for the cost of building a house in Ghana
The cost of building a house grouped into four main components above are explained here. Grouping the costs makes monitoring cash outflows easier and can help optimise the delivery costs. For instance, will using a particular construction technology reduce your costs on labour and materials?
- Land
The size of the plot and its location crucially determine its price. The typical plot in Kumasi has dimensions of 70*100 feet or size of 7000 sq. ft
The cost estimates presented here are for a greenfield comprised of 20 housing units. So this unit takes up a fraction of the space and not an entire plot of land. The actual exact space occupied by this generic house is 120 sq.m. Brownfield land will obviously be much more expensive.
- Construction costs
The main cost items are materials, labour, and other indirect costs. Labour costs can easily exceed estimates due to shabby work that tradespersons must be redone or dishonesty (such as stealing building materials).
- Compliance cost
These include drafting the house plan and obtaining the building permit from the local planning authority.
Facilitation fees to get a permit is common. Many people built their homes without permits. This is illegal and can get you in trouble with district assemblies. The house could even be demolished later. So get a permit! - Infrastructure cost
Energy, water and sanitation and the cost of site preparation are captured.
Find the CAFH building costs dashboard here.
Do you own or recently built a house in Kumasi and its environs? How much did it cost you? Please share in the comments section.
how many bags of cement or blocks are require to build a 4 Bedroom house and if possible an up to date breakdown of cost?