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Government to review 'confusing' house price indices
17/08/10
Edited by Andy Jowett.The government has launched a review of the UK's various house price indices over concerns that the variations in the different datasets could be causing confusion.
Currently, the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) and the Land Registry both publish their own reports on residential property values.
There are also monthly indices from mortgage lenders like Nationwide and Halifax, property website Rightmove and a survey monitoring market trends from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Each of these reports uses a different methodology and information to calculate its results, with some based on the asking price of a residential property when it first goes on the market, while others use the amount paid at the completion of a sale.
This can lead to significant variations in their results. For example, Nationwide said the typical property cost £169,347 in July, whereas Rightmove said the same month's average asking price was £236,332.
The UKSA's two-stage review will focus on the CLG and Land Registry indices before looking at wider housing market statistics.
