20 real estate professionals recently visited Chicago from Ghana on a six-day trade mission. The event was hosted by the National Association of REALTORS®, Illinois REALTORS®, MainStreet Organization of REALTORS®, Chicago Association of REALTORS®, Abri Foundation, World Citizens Consulting and Ako Radio. Read the recap below by Vicky Sampah, NAR’s President Liason to Ghana.
“A good legal property system is a medium that allows us to understand each other, make connections and synthesize knowledge about our assets to enhance our productivity.” – Hernando de Soto
To bring trust and transparency to the real estate industry in Ghana, a variety of new advances are striving to be made like introducing real estate laws, advanced technologies, data integration and new educational opportunities.
Vicky Sampah, REALTOR® and NAR’s President Liaison to Ghana, led the planning of this event in collaboration with national, state and local real estate associations. There have been several visits to the U.S. in the past on such initiatives and it is her hope that soon Ghana’s Real Estate market will see major reforms. Vicky founded the Ghana Real Estate Professionals Association in 2011 with a vision to support growth and development of the industry and promote professional practice in Ghana.
This event is part of NAR’s Global mission to render the global real estate markets accessible, profitable and ethical for REALTORS® to conduct business.
A Ghana delegation took a week-long study visit to Chicago to better learn how Ghana can continue to regulate, formalize and develop its real estate industry. The delegation consisted of members from the parliamentary committees on works and housing and lands and forestry, executives from the Ghana Real Estate Professionals Association (GREPA), lecturers from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and private practitioners led by the Deputy Minister for Housing, Freda Prempeh.
The Deputy Minister gave an address and commended NAR and the other organizers for pursuing this agenda to support Ghana through its relation with GREPA. She also indicated her openness to partner with both private and public sectors to fix the housing deficit in Ghana. She talked about the government’s initiatives to attract investors, which includes acquisition of land banks for potential investors in real estate, encouraging and promoting affordable housing in Ghana as well as offering tax incentives.
The event kicked off on Monday, June 26, with a business forum at the State of Illinois building in downtown Chicago where the delegates interacted with various business owners who had interest in doing business and supporting real estate in Ghana. The days following were planned for presentations, discussions and tours to better understand how the various government and private institutions support the real estate industry in providing advocacy, solutions, service, and regulation.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs engaged the delegates in a discussion on the growth of urban cities around the world, urban migration and population concerns in relation to housing, inclusiveness, and economic development. The official opening of the program was addressed by senior staff of NAR Global led by Janet Branton, Senior Vice President of Commercial & Global Services at NAR. In her welcome address, she stated “It’s all about real estate, private property rights and ownership.”
Mr. Joseph Schneider, Director of NAR Global Alliances highlighted REALTOR® education and the benefits of its bilateral partnership with GREPA. He encouraged strong partnerships among stakeholders and the government in building and developing the industry.
IHC Global, an organization which supports functioning property markets, inclusivity and better urban living conditions was represented by Sylvia Luchini who is the Managing Director of IHC Global’s Chicago office. She touched on the mission of IHC Global to provide solutions to equitable urban development through affordable housing delivery.
On the 3rd day, Illinois REALTORS® gathered a great resource team to discuss regulation, advocacy and education. The delegation was honored to have Kreg Allison, Director of Real Estate, Illinois Department of Financial Regulation (IDFPR) discussing Illinois License Law. Greg St. Aubin, Senior VP of Governments Affairs (Illinois REALTORS®) encouraged cooperative relationships with regulators towards a common goal of consumer protection. Discussions between members on drawing the lines among industry professionals became a hot topic of the day.
Mike Drews, Immediate Past President of Illinois REALTORS®, explained similarities between buyers and sellers and the duties of REALTORS® towards each client in agency relationships. He also touched on dual agency under Illinois License Law. During a breakout session, the legislative members of the group addressed topics on affordable housing and financing by the Illinois Housing Authority (IHDA) while the GREPA members were grouped to discuss benefits of an organized message. The importance of technology couldn’t be left out as technology, data aggregation and integration have changed the face of real estate. Tim Ford, CEO of DynaConnections in Texas, gave a powerful presentation on their ConnectMLS software that can help collect, integrate and analyze data.
Members of the delegation showed keen interest in the presentation, the systems and how Ghana can utilize their services. Later in the day, the delegation toured the Chicago City Hall, the official seat of Government of the City of Chicago, which houses the office of the Mayor, city clerk, and treasurer, departments of aldermen of Chicago’s various wards and the Chambers of the Chicago City Council.
The intriguing City Hall building was founded in 1837. The delegation also visited the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University’s Wabash Building, which soars 32 zigzagging glass stories over Grant Park, the lakefront and the Loop, downtown Chicago. The new director of the college, Collete English-Dixon, gave a presentation on programs offered with emphasis on commercial real estate education. Moving towards suburban Illinois, the delegation was hosted by Mainstreet Organization of Realtors at the association’s office in Downers Grove on Friday, June 30. A panel was set up to discuss all facets of a real estate transaction.
The afternoon session was hosted by the Mayor of the City of Naperville, Steve Chirico, who treated his guests to a round table discussion over lunch. The mayor made a presentation on developments in the city, touched on the importance of the inclusion of the real estate industry in local land use and the professionalism of a REALTOR® when working with local economic development. Nick and Teresa Ryan of Ryan Hill Realty and Marquette Companies walked the delegation through Water Street’s eight year development, explaining the importance of ensuring compliance regulations with the City of Naperville. Many commercial spaces were added to bring business to the area like the boutique Indigo Hotel with its best-in-class shops, restaurants, over 500 parking spaces and other necessary facets that will provide value to new real estate projects. Ryan Hill Realty broker/owner, Teresa Ryan, talked about the important role of licensed REALTORS® in bringing qualified tenants in to commercial spaces.
To end this long and intensive visit, Bill Endsley of World Citizen Consulting rounded up the study by putting together all that was learned into structures and a system called the ‘Ghana Property Scorecard,’ which Bill and Vicky Sampah have been working on in the last four years. The International Property Markets Scorecard is a research tool to assist civil society and development organizations to objectively measure the effectiveness of property markets. Overall the study visit was very educational and the delegation members are looking forward to the implementation of the lessons learned.
Author: Vicky Sampah, NAR’s President Liason to Ghana
A Ghana delegation took a week-long study visit to Chicago to better learn how Ghana can continue to regulate, formalize and develop its real estate industry. The delegation consisted of members from the parliamentary committees on works and housing and lands and forestry, executives from the Ghana Real Estate Professionals Association (GREPA), lecturers from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and private practitioners led by the Deputy Minister for Housing, Freda Prempeh.
The Deputy Minister gave an address and commended NAR and the other organizers for pursuing this agenda to support Ghana through its relation with GREPA. She also indicated her openness to partner with both private and public sectors to fix the housing deficit in Ghana. She talked about the government’s initiatives to attract investors, which includes acquisition of land banks for potential investors in real estate, encouraging and promoting affordable housing in Ghana as well as offering tax incentives.
The event kicked off on Monday, June 26, with a business forum at the State of Illinois building in downtown Chicago where the delegates interacted with various business owners who had interest in doing business and supporting real estate in Ghana. The days following were planned for presentations, discussions and tours to better understand how the various government and private institutions support the real estate industry in providing advocacy, solutions, service, and regulation.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs engaged the delegates in a discussion on the growth of urban cities around the world, urban migration and population concerns in relation to housing, inclusiveness, and economic development. The official opening of the program was addressed by senior staff of NAR Global led by Janet Branton, Senior Vice President of Commercial & Global Services at NAR. In her welcome address, she stated “It’s all about real estate, private property rights and ownership.”
Mr. Joseph Schneider, Director of NAR Global Alliances highlighted REALTOR® education and the benefits of its bilateral partnership with GREPA. He encouraged strong partnerships among stakeholders and the government in building and developing the industry.
IHC Global, an organization which supports functioning property markets, inclusivity and better urban living conditions was represented by Sylvia Luchini who is the Managing Director of IHC Global’s Chicago office. She touched on the mission of IHC Global to provide solutions to equitable urban development through affordable housing delivery.
On the 3rd day, Illinois REALTORS® gathered a great resource team to discuss regulation, advocacy and education. The delegation was honored to have Kreg Allison, Director of Real Estate, Illinois Department of Financial Regulation (IDFPR) discussing Illinois License Law. Greg St. Aubin, Senior VP of Governments Affairs (Illinois REALTORS®) encouraged cooperative relationships with regulators towards a common goal of consumer protection. Discussions between members on drawing the lines among industry professionals became a hot topic of the day.
Mike Drews, Immediate Past President of Illinois REALTORS®, explained similarities between buyers and sellers and the duties of REALTORS® towards each client in agency relationships. He also touched on dual agency under Illinois License Law. During a breakout session, the legislative members of the group addressed topics on affordable housing and financing by the Illinois Housing Authority (IHDA) while the GREPA members were grouped to discuss benefits of an organized message. The importance of technology couldn’t be left out as technology, data aggregation and integration have changed the face of real estate. Tim Ford, CEO of DynaConnections in Texas, gave a powerful presentation on their ConnectMLS software that can help collect, integrate and analyze data.
Members of the delegation showed keen interest in the presentation, the systems and how Ghana can utilize their services. Later in the day, the delegation toured the Chicago City Hall, the official seat of Government of the City of Chicago, which houses the office of the Mayor, city clerk, and treasurer, departments of aldermen of Chicago’s various wards and the Chambers of the Chicago City Council.
The intriguing City Hall building was founded in 1837. The delegation also visited the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University’s Wabash Building, which soars 32 zigzagging glass stories over Grant Park, the lakefront and the Loop, downtown Chicago. The new director of the college, Collete English-Dixon, gave a presentation on programs offered with emphasis on commercial real estate education. Moving towards suburban Illinois, the delegation was hosted by Mainstreet Organization of Realtors at the association’s office in Downers Grove on Friday, June 30. A panel was set up to discuss all facets of a real estate transaction.
The afternoon session was hosted by the Mayor of the City of Naperville, Steve Chirico, who treated his guests to a round table discussion over lunch. The mayor made a presentation on developments in the city, touched on the importance of the inclusion of the real estate industry in local land use and the professionalism of a REALTOR® when working with local economic development. Nick and Teresa Ryan of Ryan Hill Realty and Marquette Companies walked the delegation through Water Street’s eight year development, explaining the importance of ensuring compliance regulations with the City of Naperville. Many commercial spaces were added to bring business to the area like the boutique Indigo Hotel with its best-in-class shops, restaurants, over 500 parking spaces and other necessary facets that will provide value to new real estate projects. Ryan Hill Realty broker/owner, Teresa Ryan, talked about the important role of licensed REALTORS® in bringing qualified tenants in to commercial spaces.
To end this long and intensive visit, Bill Endsley of World Citizen Consulting rounded up the study by putting together all that was learned into structures and a system called the ‘Ghana Property Scorecard,’ which Bill and Vicky Sampah have been working on in the last four years. The International Property Markets Scorecard is a research tool to assist civil society and development organizations to objectively measure the effectiveness of property markets. Overall the study visit was very educational and the delegation members are looking forward to the implementation of the lessons learned.
Author: Vicky Sampah, NAR’s President Liason to Ghana