The chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing has said housing is essential to building our economy.

Speaking at the final day of the group's annual conference yesterday, Grainia Long said housing should be at the centre of a rebalanced growth strategy for the government.

Investment in housing could be the "silver bullet" the economy needs, she told an audience.

She said: "The government needs to look no further than housing to kick start economic growth. If government is serious about growth then it needs to get serious about housing now.”


In her first conference since taking up the role of chief executive, Ms Long explained that there is a growing clamour from economic commentators - including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU Commission - that investment in the housing market is great value for money and a key lever of economic growth.

For every pound worth of investment in construction, she said, £2.84 worth of growth is created for the UK economy.

She continued: "The housing industry knows the potential of housing and we are ready to unlock it. We will take this window of opportunity to help put housing front and centre in the next comprehensive spending review and we will demonstrate housing's contribution and offer to the nation.”