Lost in the debate about planning and the thorny subject of whether and how to build more new homes, is the less controversial subject of why housebuilding is good for GDP growth and even helps improve national productivity. If the number of new homes built declines, it is probably not good news for economic growth. The rough estimate among those of us who are enthusiastic about building more new homes (Yimbys, or “Yes, in my back yard”) is that we need 340,000 new home starts every year, including social and affordable housing, to meet demand – although there are some who think this number is far too high.
We are very unlikely to hit that target in the
