ORGANISATIONS
5 . The lack of accessible and accurate data and market intelligence to support decisions taken by actors across the housing value chain is a serious constraint , both to our ability to stimulate investment and delivery , and to developing creative responses to our challenges . Every participant in the housing and finance sectors , whether public or private , or in the development community , creates data . It is our collective responsibility to share this in support of the enabling environment in which we operate .
And we acknowledge :
1 . The centrality of the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDG ) and the New Urban Agenda ( NUA ) , together with Agenda 2063 , in our efforts to promote investment in affordable housing . Grateful for the continued commitment from the global community and our individual governments to address the challenges of inequality and climate change by creating conditions for sustainable , inclusive and sustained economic growth , we see our role for engaging productively with the products and services we deliver into the affordable housing sector .
2 . The United Nations-supported Principles of Responsible Investing , which encourage investors to incorporate environmental , social and corporate governance goals into investment practices across asset classes , are well addressed through an investment focus on affordable housing .
3 . The parameters and intent of international guidelines such as Basel 3 , and accounting standards , such as IFRS9 , are important frameworks which should guide the development of our housing finance markets .
We call on governments at the regional , national , state or provincial , and local levels to embrace housing as a central post-COVID economic recovery strategy , by actively creating an enabling environment for investment in affordable housing .
We urge our governments :
1 . To address the key blockage created by inefficient and poorly regulated land markets , through explicit attention to land titling and registration mechanisms that build tenure and collateral security . In this , we highlight the opportunity for governments to adopt digital technologies in support of greater efficiencies and transparency , but note this does not replace the need for efficient and effective processes that establish trust among all parties in land markets .
2 . To promote and engage in productive public-private-nonprofit partnerships that enable the full housing delivery value chain and the active participation by parties at each link in that chain . Government should give specific attention to the assembly and delivery of well-located land , bulk infrastructure , and productive transport networks . AUHF Virtual - Declaration for Housing Finance : 5 November 2020 As agreed by the members of the African Union for Housing Finance at their AGM , held virtually , on 5 November 2020
3 . To commit to explicit targets for reducing the time and cost of key statutory and administrative processes on which housing delivery depends , especially at the local level . This includes timely and transparent processing of development and zoning approvals , occupation inspections , infrastructure connections , and services clearances .
4 . To pursue macro-economic policy , financial regulation and taxation conducive to long term , local housing investment , focusing explicitly on interest rates and inflation targets , as well as other measures that lower maturity premiums and credit risk premiums , and leverage the utilization of collateral value . These measures , as well as explicit attention to local long-term , local capital ( pension funds , institutional investors ) will further stimulate investment and the availability of affordable housing finance on a sustainable basis .
5 . To support the Data Agenda for Africa , agreeing on mortgage lending and other housing-related reporting standards to enable cross-country comparability , making public all data collected as part of the regulatory process in the housing and finance sectors , and explicitly supporting principles of data transparency and regular reporting .
We also encourage / invite / urge international development finance institutions and other development agencies specifically : 1 . To increase the priority of housing within their wider development agendas and funding streams , due to the centrality of housing to social and economic progress .
2 . To invest in testing and establishing new , blended financing models explicitly focused on the particular nature of affordable housing , that manage risk sustainably , enable the realisation of acceptable returns , and effectively shift especially local investor focus towards affordable housing .
3 . To make early stage , venture capital investments in start-up initiatives with a strong business case , and track and share the performance of these to support the attention of more commercial investors on affordable housing .
4 . To promote and require an affordable green standard that addresses local climate-related and urbanisation pressures . This includes promoting affordable green financing ; establishing and promoting green building codes and incentives ; and demonstrating confidence in green , alternative building and other technologies by supporting their market entrance .
5 . To recognise and support with capital and technical assistance , a diversity of housing financing mechanisms , including housing microfinance , rent-to-own schemes , homeownership savings plans , SACCO lending for housing , homeowner led construction and other end user finance products , the critical need for construction finance , affordability supports and risk management interventions , and capital market development in support of affordable housing .
6 . To invest in the development of the information infrastructure necessary for investment in affordable housing , by supporting the Data Agenda for Africa . This will include investment in strong data and market analytics systems , and active market tracking and longitudinal analyses that support a growing understanding of the housing financing dependencies and which track market growth and progress . Critically , this will also involve sharing the performance data of their own investments .
To be continued in the next issue of SA Affordable Housing
www . saaffordablehousing . co . za JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021 31