7 things making it harder for young Ghanaians to build houses

Rising costs of cement, iron rods, roofing and other building materials are making construction more expensive.

Low incomes, unemployment, labour costs and concerns about unreliable developers are adding to the difficulty of completing homes.

Owning a home remains an important goal for many young Ghanaians, but turning that dream into reality can involve several financial and practical challenges.

Pulse recently asked its audience: “What is making building houses in Ghana difficult?”

The responses pointed to recurring concerns around the cost of land, building materials, income, land disputes and finding reliable people to handle construction.

Here are seven challenges that came up from the responses.

Land For many aspiring homeowners, the first major hurdle is buying land.

Several respondents mentioned the price of land and the difficulty of saving enough money to purchase a plot.

One person asked: “When man go save go buy land!?”

For young people trying to build while earning modest incomes, the cost of acquiring land can consume a significant portion of their savings before construction even begins.

Buying land does not necessarily mean the problems end there.

Respondents mentioned land guards, litigation, multiple sales of the same land, improper demarcation and documentation issues.

One person described the situation as “the land guards, the land commissioners and the repetitive selling of someone’s land.”

Another simply wrote: “Land litigation and money.”

These concerns can create additional financial and legal difficulties for prospective homeowners.

Building materials The cost of materials was one of the most repeated concerns in the responses.

Most people specifically mentioned cement, iron rods and roofing materials, while others referred to the cost of building materials generally.

Iron rods, cement and roofing, the only 3 headache.

High and rising construction costs day in day out, expensive building material.

Ghana Statistical Service data reported in August 2026 showed building-cost inflation at 4.0% year-on-year in July 2026, with materials inflation at 5.1%. While this represented a moderation from the previous year’s levels, materials continued to add to construction costs.

Unemployment rate Some respondents said the problem starts with their ability to earn and save.

Low income, money, lack of resources and financial difficulties as a result of unemployment

Masa the system is not working how can we build, only the few who can.

For someone without a stable or sufficiently high income, paying for land, materials, labour and other expenses at the same time can make construction difficult to sustain.

Materials are not the only expense involved in building a house.

Respondents also mentioned handymen, construction teams and the additional profit or charges added during construction.

One respondent specifically cited “the profit the construction team add,” while another mentioned “the handy men.”

This means that even after purchasing materials, homeowners still have to budget for the people responsible for turning those materials into a finished building.

One respondent warned about “dealing with the wrong developers,” while another simply listed “integrity and honesty.”

For someone investing their savings into a building project, choosing the wrong contractor, developer or other service provider can potentially lead to delays, additional expenses or disagreements over the work.

The quality and location of land can also affect the cost and difficulty of construction.

One respondent mentioned the increasing number of waterlogged areas, raising concerns about the suitability of some locations for building.

Land that requires additional preparation or specialised construction considerations can potentially add to the overall cost of a project.

The responses from Pulse’s audience suggest that the challenge of building a home goes beyond the price of cement or other construction materials.

For many young Ghanaians, the process starts with finding and securing affordable land, then navigating ownership and documentation issues before dealing with the costs of materials, labour and construction.

And behind all of these challenges is one recurring question: how much can someone realistically save from their income to finance the process?

For some respondents, that is what makes the dream of owning a home feel increasingly difficult to achieve.