IMF Working Papers

Why House Price Indexes Differ: Measurement and Analysis

By Mick Silver

May 1, 2012

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Format: Chicago

Mick Silver. Why House Price Indexes Differ: Measurement and Analysis, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2012) accessed October 10, 2024
Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

A key element in the build-up to the global recession and subsequently was the movement in house price indexes (HPIs). These indexes are particularly prone to methodological and coverage differences which can undermine both within-country and cross-country economic analysis. The paper outlines key measurement issues and reports on empirical work using an international panel data set that (i) considers whether differences in HPI measurement matter and, if so, in what way, and (ii) revisits the measurement of global house price inflation and the modeling of the determinants of house price inflation using HPIs corrected for differences in measurement practice.

Subject: Asset prices, House price indexes, Housing, Housing prices, Inflation, National accounts, Prices

Keywords: Asset prices, Global, Global house price inflation, House price indexes, House price inflation, Housing, Housing inflation, Housing prices, HPI methodology, HPI series, HPI variation, Inflation, Measurement variable, Unadjusted house price indexes, WP

Publication Details

  • Pages:

    38

  • Volume:

    ---

  • DOI:

    ---

  • Issue:

    ---

  • Series:

    Working Paper No. 2012/125

  • Stock No:

    WPIEA2012125

  • ISBN:

    9781475503548

  • ISSN:

    1018-5941