Understanding how developing economies build housing, and how housing contributes to the growth of developing economies, is a key requirement for implementing evidence-based economic, housing, and housing finance policy. Yet, in many developing nations, insufficient macroeconomic and housing sector data exists to quantify how, where and to what extent housing influences economic growth. This paper outlines the findings from a pioneering methodology developed by the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) that has been used to describe, quantify and compare the impact of housing on the economies of South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, and Nigeria.