The importance of house building is firmly in the national policy spotlight, given the Government’s clear focus on driving forward the supply of housing, tackling problems of affordability and reversing declining rates of home ownership. Yet the economic contribution that the house building industry makes to the economy is also significant and has long been recognised by Government, policy makers and practitioners.
The Home Builders Federation (‘HBF’) commissioned Lichfields to provide an up-to-date assessment of the house building industry’s economic footprint in both monetary and non-monetary terms, updating
previous analysis prepared by Lichfields in 2015 with the latest information, statistics and trends in house building.
Our research shows that the house building industry in England and Wales is now worth £38bn a year and supports nearly 700,000 jobs. The recent increase in house building activity has helped to deliver a wide range of other economic benefits including £2.7bn in tax revenues and £841m towards new community infrastructure.
We were delighted to be asked by the HBF to update our original 2015 report. We have again identified the very significant economic contribution made by house building. Boosting supply to achieve the Government’s aspiration of 300,000 homes per annum in England will not only help improve access to housing, but also deliver a significant economic and infrastructure dividend.
