The Ghanaian transaction‐based residential indices

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide technically robust indicators of housing market performance from the records held by the Ghana Land Valuation Board, through the construction of the first ever residential price and rent indices for the aggregate and disaggregate markets. Design/methodology/approach – The approach involved time series produced from hedonic models using 3,250 transaction‐based data, running from 1992 to 2007, and documents on movements in capital and rental values in Accra and Tema, the dominant commercial conurbations in the country. Findings – The paper makes a major contribution to knowledge and understanding of housing market dynamics in Ghana. The results suggest that the derived price and rent indices look, at first sight, reasonably plausible with cyclical trends showing weak and strong patches. Originality/value – The paper focuses on the development of formal housing markets through a detailed case study of Ghana, and provides findings and models of a wider application in other emerging economies.