Fall 08 View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Ashesi Institutional Repository Ashesi University College “Perceptions on Housing Affordability Among the Working Class in Accra” By Kelvin Kamasa Undergraduate thesis submitted to the Department of Business Administration, Ashesi University College. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration Supervised by: Dr. Edgar Cooke April 2017 PERCEPTION ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY ii Declaration I hereby declare that this undergraduate thesis is my original work and that no part of it has been presented for another degree in this university or elsewhere. Candidate’s Signature: Candidate’s Name: Kelvin Kamasa Date: 17/04/2016 I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this undergraduate thesis was supervised in accordance with the guidelines on supervision of theses established by Ashesi University College Supervisor’s Signature: Supervisor’s Name: Dr. Edgar Cooke Date: 17/04/2016 PERCEPTION ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY iii Acknowledgement First of all, I will like to thank the Lord Almighty for the grace given me to undertake this research. I will also like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Edgar Cooke for his immense contribution, time and effort towards making this work a success. I am also grateful to Mrs. Rebecca Awuah, Mr Eric Ocran and Dr. Sena Agyepong for their support in making this a success. Finally, I will like to express my gratitude to my parent for their emotional and financial support and also realizing the importance of education. PERCEPTION ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY iv Abstract Housing provision in the country has seen a number of interventions by the Government of Ghana to improve the housing situation through the construction of affordable housing units in the country. Nonetheless, this has not been enough to curb the housing deficit in the country. Housing provided by the private sector tend to be above the means of low and middle-income earners in the country. This paper aims at finding the perceptions of people within the working class on housing affordability in Accra. A quantitative approach was adopted for this study. Purposive sampling technique was adopted in undertaking this study. A sample size of 205 was used for this study. Responses were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and PSPP. Findings from the study revealed that age happens to be a moderator for home ownership among high-income earners; mortgages rates are considered not affordable; and housing perceived as not affordable within the selected study areas. PERCEPTION ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY v Table of Contents Declaration .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.0 Background of Study ................................................................................................. 1 2.0 Research Problem ...................................................................................................... 3 3.0 Research Objectives .................................................................................................. 4 4.0 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 4 5.0 Hypotheses for this study .......................................................................................... 5 6.0 Conceptual framework .............................................................................................. 6 7.0 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................... 6 8.0 Scope and Limitations of the Study ........................................................................... 6 9.0 Methodology .............................................................................................................. 6 10.0 Outlook of Study ..................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 .............................................................................................................................. 8 Literature Review ............................................................................................................ 8 Conceptual Framework on Rent .................................................................................... 19 Conceptual Framework on Homeownership ................................................................. 21 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................ 23 PERCEPTION ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY vi Methodology .................................................................................................................. 23 3.7 Tools and Methods of Data Collection and Analysis .............................................. 26 3.7.1 Method of Analysis .............................................................................................. 26 3.8 Hypothesis Statement .............................................................................................. 27 Chapter 4 ............................................................................................................................ 29 Analysis and Results ...................................................................................................... 29 4.1.13 Homeownership and Perception on Housing ..................................................... 43 4.2 Discussion ................................................................................................................ 44 Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................................ 47 Summary of Findings Recommendation and Conclusion ............................................. 47 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................... 47 Conclusion and Recommendation ................................................................................. 48 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 49 Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................ 53 Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................ 58 Appendix 3 ........................................................................................................................ 61 PERCEPTION ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY vii List of Tables 1. Demographic Information of Respondents ……………………… 30 2. Homeownership Status …………………………………………… 31 3. Summary table on Renters ……………………………………… 32 4. Summary table on decision for a mortgage and mortgage rate consideration. 34 5. Relationship Table Between Rental Payments and Homeownership..… 43 6. Chi-square test between homeownership and work type…………………… 58 7. Chi-square test between homeownership and perception on housing………. 58 8. Chi-square test between homeownership and mortgage decision………….. 59 9. Chi-square test between homeownership and salaries……………………….. 59 10. Chi-square test between homeownership and mortgage rate consideration… 60 PERCEPTION ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY viii List of Figures 1. Conceptual framework on rentals ………………………………………… 21 2. Conceptual framework on homeownership……………………………….. 22 3. Bar Graph on the Salaries of Respondents……………………………….. 35 4. Bar Graph on the Perceptions on Housing Among Respondents………….. 36 5. Bar Graph on Work Type and Homeownership…………………………… 37 6. Bar Graph on Homeownership and Decision for Mortgage……………….. 38 7. Bar Graph on Homeownership & Mortgage Rate Consideration of Respondents……………………………………………………………….. 40 8. Bar Graph on Homeownership and Salaries………………………….. 41 9. Bar Graph on Total Monthly Rental Payments…………………….. 42 10. Bar Graph on Perception on housing and Homeownership……………. 44 PERCEPTION ON HOUSING AFFORDABILITY 1 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.0 Background of Study According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, housing falls under the provision of the basic needs that are necessary for human survival. Studies suggest that people with access to basic necessities like housing tend to be more productive at their workplaces. According to a study by Barefield (1983), owning a house helps improve the self-esteem of an individual. Maslow regards this as the topmost need he associates with people. Kumar (2012) also indicated that employees often perform more efficiently provided their housing needs have been satisfied. In Ghana, houses play a pivotal role within our society. Homeownership is often associated with