G20 performance on housing

The G20 leaders’ inaugural meeting in November 2008 was held in Washington in urgent response to the global financial crisis created by unfettered mortgage lending and shadow banking that had begun in the United States. Their commitments to strengthen the global financial regulatory regime as a preventive measure have largely been successful and have come at the expense of the growing plight of inadequate affordable housing worldwide. United Nations statistics reveal that approximately 2.8 billion people are not properly housed and over 318 million people are homeless, with disproportionately high numbers in Africa and Asia. Housing intersects with many G20 initiatives and several aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals. The enormous adverse socio-economic impacts from inadequate housing undermines the overall progress of G20 initiatives. 

The themes of South Africa’s G20 presidency are ‘Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability’ – all of which can be advanced through large-scale housing initiatives interwoven with G20 commitments on development, health, climate, energy and the economy to improve outcomes substantially for the global economy, society and national security.

Deliberations

Since 2008, G20 leaders have devoted 2,929 words in their declarations to housing, slightly more than 1% of the total and averaging 154 per summit. Those references, while not directly related to housing construction, includ financial incentives to increase affordability to poor households by reducing energy costs, increasing employment, improving financial services and enacting tax reform. The first mention was at the 2009 Pittsburgh Summit, in only 3% of that declaration. Between the 2010 Seoul and the 2018 Buenos Aires summits, no more than 3% at each summit referred to housing, with none at all for the following summits except for 2% at Rome in 2021.

Decisions

G20 leaders have made only six commitments on housing, beginning with their focus on financial regulation reform and improved oversight while stabilising the effects of the housing collapse. The first three commitments were on macroeconomic policy and financial regulation at Cannes in 2011 and Los Cabos in 2012. Housing reappeared at Hamburg in 2017 and again at Buenos Aires in 2018 with one commitment on development and one on labour and employment during those crisis-free years. At the 2021 Rome Summit, one commitment specifically addressed household affordability due to energy shocks and economic perils resulting from the Covid-19 shutdown.

delivery

The G20 Research Group has not assessed any housing commitments for compliance by G20 members. However, 31 commitments have been assessed on five subjects relevant to housing. Together, these housing-relevant commitments averaged 78% compliance, higher than the G20’s overall 71% average.

On macroeconomic policy, five housing-relevant commitments made between the 2010 Seoul and 2022 Bali summits covered structural reforms, infrastructure, long-term financing, investment, credit access and central bank price stability. They averaged 90% compliance, and include the drop in 2022 to 78%.

On financial regulation, eight housing-relevant commitments made between the 2008 Washington and 2012 Los Cabos summits were on macro-prudential risks and over-the-counter derivative markets. They averaged 73% compliance.

On development, 10 housing-relevant commitments made between the 2009 London and 2017 Hamburg summits – on infrastructure, access to finance for the poor and financial inclusion – averaged 75% compliance.

On labour and employment, two housing-relevant commitments made at the 2009 London and 2010 Seoul summits referred to family-friendly markets and targeted benefit schemes, and averaged 59% compliance.

On energy, six housing-relevant commitments were made at the 2022 Bali and 2023 New Delhi summits. They included the transition towards a more sustainable energy future, investment and affordability, and averaged 84% compliance.

Recommendations

These limited and indirect compliance assessments suggest no clear causes for G20 performance. Nonetheless, some suggestions for the Johannesburg Summit arise. The G20 Skukuza Development Ministerial Declaration in July 2025 called for action on universal social protection systems to include combatting illicit financial flows, which includes money laundering through real estate that creates inflated and thereby unaffordable housing prices. At that meeting, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa stated that “South Africa’s G20 Presidency is about shifting the centre of gravity in global conversations and placing people and planet at the heart of development.” 

With the strengthened global financial architecture relevant to mortgage financing, the G20 has an opportunity to expand lending for urbanisation programmes that include infrastructure and implement new green building technologies via modular homes, prefabrication and multi-unit dwellings and also increase employment, diminish greenhouse gas emissions in buildings while improving energy efficiencies – all of which correlate directly to better health outcomes and economic growth while intersecting with numerous other G20 priorities. Convening G20 housing ministers for annual meetings would serve to share best practices and the integration of other commitments to scale up progress, including on the SDGs, while addressing the migration and refugee crises. As the G20 comprises 85% of the global economy, with the majority of housing deficiencies in Africa and Asia, South Africa’s G20 presidency can provide the ideal leadership to move forward on these complementary initiatives.