The Government today announced the launch of a new UK housing price index. Whilst the Government feels that this will provide a clearer indication of the state of the market, Melfyn Williams, President of the NAEA suggests caution.
"The problem with the new house price index is that the housing market moves quickly, yet this index relies on historical data from completed sales which can be several months old. It is worrying if the Government is intending to use this data to help set interest rates as they will not be getting an up-to-date picture. The NAEA's own survey on the other hand is made up of
data from the current month and is therefore more relevant."
