Are We Ready for Licensed Real Estate Agents in Ghana?

For five years, the Real Estate Agency Act has been a legislative fact but a practical fiction. We’ve discussed it, we’ve waited for it, and now, it appears the engine is finally turning. The government is putting the finishing touches on the Legislative Instrument (L.I.), the critical piece of operational code that moves the Real Estate Agency Act, 2020 (Act 1047) from theory to practice.

When the law is fully enforced, you will need a real estate agent or broker licensed by the Real Estate Agency Council (REAC) to buy or sell property in Ghana. 

That is because all real estate transactions will require a real estate transaction certificate, which can only be obtained from a licensed real estate agent. All real estate payments will be digital, and many more benefits are inscribed in the Real Estate Agency Act that will benefit every stakeholder. 

I wonder how the general public who have been so used to the ‘Ghanaian’ way of doing business will receive this, but I know that most agents and brokers are eager for this to become the norm.

It was about 15 months ago that I posted an article, optimistic that REAC was “open for business.” What followed was predictable: a change in national administration, a corresponding reset in REAC’s management, and then a long period of quiet. 

Now, this new management, building on the groundwork of the last few years, has brought us to this point—the REAC National Stakeholder Engagement. Maybe it was the title that convinced me that there would be stakeholder engagement, and with engagement, I mean an open forum for real estate agents and other industry professionals to discuss and align on issues.

The stakeholder event itself was a well-produced affair. We had the requisite speeches, the insightful panel discussions, and all the familiar mechanics of a national conference. My only issue was the paltry 30 minutes allocated to questions. Of course, there was not enough time.

Many questions were left unanswered and I was left with my own question unasked, a question I’ll be posing right here before this article is done. Perhaps someone reading has the answer.

For professional brokers and agents, this isn’t just another government headline. This is the starting gun. The chaotic, unregulated days that have defined our industry and eroded public trust are, supposedly, numbered. 

We do not like the fact that any Kojo, Kofi and Akosua can wake up one morning and call themselves real estate agents, with no prior training or education. We are all anticipating the sanity and structure this new framework promises.

But let’s be clear: as stakeholders, our role has now shifted from passive hope to active constructive partnership. We are no longer just “looking forward” to this. We are building. And like anyone who is invested in his building, you will notice a few things that can be improved and need to be addressed if we want this new era to be successful.

On Registration and Licensing: Are We Building a Highway or a Bottleneck?

The entire registration and licensing framework hinges on three non-negotiables: quality, speed and access. In its current form, the plan seems to ignore the last two.

We are in the digital AI age; there is zero justification for an agent in Kumasi or Kpando to be forced to burn fuel and spend a full day travelling to Accra just to register as an agent. This entire process must be online, national, and accessible from day one. Anything less is an immediate failure of the system.

To apply for a broker’s license, you need to download the form from the website, fill it and then submit it to the offices of REAC, in person. I get that this is the early stages and that they are still putting systems in place, but to make it accessible, everything regarding the application process should be online, including form submission. It is important we build that foundation.

We have an entire ministry of Digital Technology and Innovation, so I expect nothing less.

But the more pressing question is one of speed. Individuals who want to become agents will have to go through the course. Creating this course will take months if not weeks, and it must be fully accessible online. 

Professional bodies like GAREB already have an accredited institution, GhIREB, which is perfectly capable of lecturing and testing candidates right now. It has already graduated 2 batches of well-trained professionals who understand the law governing the real estate sector, professional ethics and more.

Why reinvent the wheel? Adopting or outsourcing this component seems like the most effective way to get qualified agents registered and compliant with the new law fast, without having to spend months or even years creating this course.

On Branding: Optics Matter

I also happen to be a marketer, so this might sound like a marketing quibble, but it’s fundamental to the mission. The industry is fighting a decades-old perception of unprofessionalism. 

So, how can we project a new era of trust and quality when the governing body’s own branding—from the conference PowerPoints to the REAC website—is outdated and inconsistent?

Optics matter in real estate, and REAC is no exception. Outsourcing the design to professionals will help improve this drastically.

On Communication: Are We Talking to Ourselves?

The stakeholder conference was a prime example of a communication shortcoming. The room was filled, but largely with stakeholders who are already part of a professional body. We were, in effect, preaching to the choir.

The real challenge is the 98% of agents who weren’t there, who likely don’t even know REAC exists, let alone that they must be licensed. How are we reaching them? 

This isn’t a complex problem. REAC needs a direct, simple communication channel—a functional newsletter, an official WhatsApp broadcast, or an SMS system—to ensure every stakeholder receives information directly from the source, cutting through the misinformation.

On Collaboration: Is This a Council or Another Silo?

Collaboration cannot just be a handshake with real estate associations. Its true power lies in functional interoperability with other key governmental agencies. I’m glad that this was talked about, but why has nothing been connected yet?

We need shared databases and APIs with the Lands Commission, the Ghana Police Service, the National Identification Authority (NIA), and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), Bank of Ghana and many other stakeholders. 

Data sitting in silos is useless. A registered agent should be able to query a system to verify land registration status. We should be able to access aggregated, anonymized data to produce accurate market valuations and predictions. This is the only way to move from an industry of guesswork to one of data-driven intelligence.

I’m very passionate about this point because to me, this is one of the major keys to improving the industry. Registered agents should have access to this information which will speed up work processes.

Now, to My Question…

This brings me to the one, simple question I was waiting to ask: When?

After all the discussions, when will these frameworks move from presentation slides to reality? Those of us who have been tracking this since 2020 were left with vision but no actual deliverables. We need a public-facing roadmap with hard deadlines.

Give us short-term, measurable goals. For instance:

• “By Q1 of 2026, the online registration portal will be operational nationwide.”
• “In three months, the curriculum for agent testing will be ratified.”
• “By June, we will have API integration with the Lands Commission.”

Without clear timelines, “soon” becomes “forever.” We need benchmarks we can all hold ourselves accountable to.

The energy at the conference, even on a rainy Accra day, was undeniable. Stakeholders showed up in their numbers, proving there is a collective will to bring sanity to this space. The excitement for the future of Ghanaian real estate is palpable. Now, we just need the action to match.

Knowing my fellow Ghanaians, some will say I am being harsh in this article, but the more we delay, the more people are being swindled by unscrupulous agents, the more people are losing their lives and property to bad real estate transactions, the more investors are having second thoughts about committing to Ghana. 

Over 80% of court cases are real estate-related and most of that is due to a lack of regulation. I’m not saying that this will solve all the issues but it will help alleviate some of them and create new opportunities within the sector.

I think REAC is doing the most with the current funding that is allocated to them and I commend them for that. The website has a chat feature which allows you to chat with an actual REAC executive as they build this all-important framework. 

I’m confident the REAC team will do its best to get this off the ground within the coming months.

The real estate sector must be treated with urgency so that all parties can benefit.

In case you are new to all this and you need a refresher on REAC, check out this article. If you are a stakeholder in the real estate space, leave a comment below on your thoughts on REAC.