It is often argued that land registration is the answer to insecurity of real estate ownership in sub-Saharan Africa. This argument is based on the presumption that there is ownership security in the advanced world because every real estate is registered. However, a lot of studies conducted in the developing world have established that ownership security cannot be assured via land registration. This book critically analyses the theoretical principles that underpin land registration systems in order to provide more insights as to why land registration cannot guarantee ownership security. It also examines the nexus between security of ownership and investment.

Real estate is an important subject that cannot be left out any serious macroeconomic deliberation and the collective quest for investment, wealth creation, poverty alleviation and economic development. The importance of well established real estate markets that operate efficiently cannot, therefore, be over-emphasised. One area that has and continues to dominate discussions relates to how real estate market information should be organised and managed to guide participants in the markets to make efficient purchase, sale and investment decisions. In Ghana, despite 126 years of unbroken history of implementing land registration programmes, it is estimated that only 8% of real estate ownership has been registered. It is important to properly comprehend this problem and its fundamental causes in order to proffer the appropriate remedies. This book discusses the issues facing land registration in Ghana.