What Building 1,000 Homes Means to the U.S. Economy
April 2, 2020
Building 1,000 average single-family homes creates 2,900 full-time jobs and generates $110.96 million in taxes and fees, according to a new study from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
Similarly, building 1,000 average rental apartments generates 1,250 jobs and $55.91 million in taxes and revenue for local, state and federal government. Moreover, $10 million in remodeling expenditures creates 75 jobs and nearly $3 million in taxes.
"Before the coronavirus pummeled the U.S. economy, housing was on the rise with January and February new home sales numbers posting their highest reading since the Great Recession," said NAHB Chairman Dean Mon, a home builder and developer from Shrewsbury, N.J. "The demand is clearly there, and as this study shows, we expect that housing will play its traditional role of helping to lead the economy out of recession later in 2020 when the pandemic subsides."
The study shows that housing is poised to lead the economic rebound once social distancing and other virus mitigation efforts show success in containing the coronavirus pandemic. NAHB says the taxes and fees help fund various levels of government to support police, firefighters and school.
The NAHB model shows that job creation through housing is broad-based. Building new homes and apartments generates jobs in industries that produce lumber, concrete, lighting fixtures, heating equipment, and other products that go into a home remodeling project. Other jobs are generated in the process of transporting, storing and selling these products.
Additional jobs are generated for professionals such as architects, engineers, real estate agents, title and settlement professionals and lawyers.
In another sign of the important role that housing plays in the economy, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on March 28 that it had designated construction of single-family and multifamily housing as an "Essential Infrastructure Business," meaning that construction could continue in places under stay-at-home orders. DHS also designated government offices that assist title searches and recording services as essential, as well as title and settlement companies.
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