Building the nation’s homes supports 800k jobs and delivers over £50bn in economic activity

A new report released today shows that last year home building in England and Wales generated £53.3bn of economic output and supported 834,000 jobs, underlining the economic potential of delivering the homes the country needs.

The Economic Footprint of Home Building in England and Wales report illustrates the boost to growth Labour can achieve by hitting its target of 1.5 million homes – which would support an additional 350,000 jobs and £100bn in economic activity across the parliament compared to the last five years.

The research carried out by Lichfields for the Home Builders Federation (HBF) found that last year, delivering 240k homes generated;

• £53.3bn of economic output
• £6.4bn in revenues for the exchequer (via SDLT, Corporation tax, NI, PAYE etc)
• £9.2bn of new ‘affordable’ housing (20% of all new homes are ‘affordable’)
• £1.5bn investment in infrastructure
• £16.6bn spent in the construction supply chain (90% stays in UK)
• £216m investment in open space, community and sport facilities

And;

supported 834k jobs including 10k apprentices and trainees

The new report, produced in association with United Trust Bank, starkly illustrates how increasing the number of homes built increases the economic benefits. Last year, the delivery of 240k homes generated an additional £15bn of activity compared to 2019, when 224k homes were built.

The findings also demonstrate the huge boost to growth the new government can release if it can hit its ambitious housing targets. If Labour were to meet its housing targets of 1.5 million homes built over the course of this Parliament, this could result in:

• 1,043,000 jobs supported each year, including 10,250 graduate and apprenticeship positions.
• £330 bn generated in economic activity
• £57.5 bn for affordable housing
• £42.5 bn spending in local shops.
• £40 bn in tax receipts, including £3 bn in additional council tax
• £9.4 bn in funding for infrastructure, including £4.2 bn for new and improved schools
• £1.35 bn in spending for open spaces

Compared to the 1 million homes built under the last government, this equals an additional:

• 347,500 jobs each year, including 3,417 graduate and apprentices
• £111 bn in economic activity
• £19 bn for affordable housing
• £14 bn spending in local shops
• £13 bn in tax receipts, including £1 bn in council tax
• £3.1 bn in funding for infrastructure, including £1.4 bn on new and improved schools
• £450m in funding for open space

The home building industry has welcomed the swift and decisive interventions Labour has made on planning, that have largely addressed the major barriers to land coming through the system. It is now urging government to address the other constraints to delivery, particularly on the demand side. Builders can only build if buyers can buy and the lack of affordable mortgage availability, particularly for first-time buyers, is constraining investment. It is also calling on the new government to deliver on its commitment to find a solution to the ‘nutrition neutrality’ issue holding up an estimated 160,000 homes.

Speaking today, Neil Jefferson, chief executive of the HBF said: “As well as addressing some of the major social issues the country faces, building more homes drives economic activity. The house building industry sustains hundreds of thousands of jobs, generates huge receipts for the exchequer and boosts investment in infrastructure and amenities across the country.

“Delivering new developments provides energy-efficient, modern homes, and ploughs investment into new roads, schools and community facilities that benefit both new and existing residents.

“If Government can deliver on its ambitious housing targets it will reap significant social and economic benefits. The industry welcomes the swift and decisive actions to address the constraints in the planning system, but more is needed to accelerate growth. The lack of affordable mortgage availability means more support for buyers is needed. Creating demand for new homes provides the confidence the industry needs to invest and deliver both private and affordable homes.

“The upcoming budget provides an opportunity for the government to take more positive steps to address the mounting housing crisis and to commit to their pledge to get Britain building again.”

Richard Coburn, senior director at Lichfields, said: “We were delighted to be asked by the HBF to update our series of economic impact work which we started in 2015. Our research lands at an extremely important time for the house building industry with the new government seemingly taking all reasonable policy measures to accelerate much-needed delivery of new homes.

“Lichfields again has identified the very significant economic contribution made by house building and how boosting supply to achieve the government’s confirmed aspiration of 300k homes per annum in England will not only help improve access to housing for people across the country but also deliver a significant economic and infrastructure dividend.

“It is important that this contribution is properly recognised in planning and investment decisions across central and local government.”