A new study has found that delivering on the UK Government’s target of building 1.5 million homes by 2029 could generate up to £103 billion in combined social value, a finding which industry leaders say provides compelling moral and financial justification for accelerating housing delivery.

Unveiled at a parliamentary reception this week, The Impact of a Home report outlines the broad societal benefits that quality housing can bring, measuring outcomes across social mobility, education access, green space availability, and more. Using place-based data, the report evaluates how homes impact lives based on location and individual circumstances.

The study estimates that securing a permanent home for each person moved out of homelessness in London could generate £25,693 in social value, a significant figure as the capital spends around £4 million per day on temporary accommodation. Other examples include a £9,543 impact for an older couple relocating to retirement housing in Kent, £2,107 for a family escaping overcrowded housing in Manchester, and £1,520 in wellbeing value for a child in London gaining access to a private garden.


The report is a collaboration between built environment consultancy Meeting Place and economists from Loop, part of the Pagabo Group, and has been endorsed by housebuilder Vistry Group and housing association SNG (Sovereign Network Group). Together, they have developed what is believed to be the UK’s first framework for evaluating a home’s effect on wellbeing, economic resilience, and pressure on public services.

Nikki Davies, Chief Executive at Meeting Place, said: "For many of us, our home makes us feel warmth and security. It’s somewhere where we can recharge, exercise, study or work and spend time with family and friends. Yet until now, it's been difficult to distil and calculate the impact a good quality home can have on our everyday lives.

“For the first time, our research puts the spotlight on what it really means to have a home of your own and provides a timely reminder of why we need to redouble efforts to alleviate the country's chronic and ever-increasing housing crisis. Through government, industry and communities working together, we have the power to generate tens of billions of pounds worth of impact, transforming lives for millions of people up and down the country."

Stephen Teagle, Chief Executive, Partnerships and Regeneration at Vistry Group, added: "This report powerfully reinforces what many of us know instinctively; that a safe, secure home transforms lives. If we work together to use these insights to their fullest, we can create the places and build the future that so many people across the country urgently need.

"The government's ambitious housing targets have the potential to deliver a major boost for the country; not just for future homeowners or in macro-economic terms, but, as the Impact of a Home report shows, through tangible social impact for society as a whole."