Lowering the high interest rate cost of housing finance in Africa

This working paper explores the causes of high interest rates in African countries in an attempt to establish recommendations for how they might be reduced. Fiscal dominance, weak regulatory frameworks that drive up credit risk premiums, a lack of long term funding and limited use of collateral value all drive up the interest rate cost of housing in Africa. Author Michael Fuchs explores the ways in which policy makers and practitioners might begin to address these issues in order to reduce interest rate risk in housing markets across Africa.