The impact of the boom and slump of oil prices on the housing market in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana's oil city

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of the boom and slump of oil prices on Sekondi-Takoradi's housing market. Interviews were carried out with key informants including estate agents, a major property developer, planning officials, officials of oil and gas and oil service companies, officials of recruitment agencies, and owners of eating establishments. Questionnaires and interviews were also used to collect data from oil workers. The findings show that discovery and production of oil during higher oil prices period led to refurbishment and construction of housing to suit the taste of oil workers with increases in rents. For the less well-paid, it caused evictions as property owners looked to upgrade their houses for a higher income group. Recent decline in oil prices and the redundancy of oil workers led to empty property, significant falls in rental values, decreasing estate agency business and profit, and it halted housing and hotel construction. Some eating establishments also experienced reduction in patronage after oil prices fell. This research adds to existing knowledge of effects of the oil industry during the boom in oil prices on Sekondi-Takoradi's housing market, and sheds new light on the impact of the slump in oil prices on housing in the city.