Housing Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa: Reflections from South Africa

This paper was provided at the Second African Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD II), held in Abuja, Nigeria. The presentation is based on the paper commissioned by the National Development of Housing for the AMCHUD II conference, and it considers the state of housing finance in sub-Saharan Africa with a South African lens. The report reviews current housing finance systems in South Africa, and then explores housing finance systems in other African countries, given the lessons that the South African experience suggests. Three lessons are highlighted for government seeking to address the housing challenges of their populations.