Airbnb Fallout in Ghana - As Landlords target foreigners, local rental tightens for Ghanaians

The explosion of the Airbnb market across Ghana has been pushing well- needed cash into pockets of many Ghanaians, but it is providing side effect - the tightening of the rental market.

While figures are not available yet, the explosion in the Airbnb business has left Ghanaians, young professionals having difficulty in finding a one or two bedroom apartment to rent for a long term.

What is happening now is there is no place for the locals, they can’t find properties. So a young professional who needs a one bedroom to rent for $250 a month, it’s not there because most homeowners are now going into Airbnb where they can easily get $40 to $60 per night. This is much more than collecting $1200 a month. So what you find most is that owners are going that route and young professionals pretty much don’t have much place to rent these days.

Augustine Ewiah CEO of Cameo1 Homes warns that, Airbnb will only get more popular across Ghana and as such the Government needs to put things in place to deal with the issue.

“The Government needs to arrange with Airbnb, and the percentage of income they collect goes towards housing for its citizens. The Government needs to come out with creative ways, and we are ready to sit with the Government to come up with strategies to deal with this.

“We encourage that anyone having challenges in renting a place should seek professional help. We advise that, you speak to a Realtor, which is the first thing not just a real estate agent. If you should do business with someone who is a Realtor, there is a degree of Professionalism and Accountability which you won’t get dealing with someone else who is not a Realtor.