REINZ Launches Monthly Housing Price Index

REINZ Launches Monthly Housing Price Index

Monthly statistical information collated by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) will be the basis of the REINZ Monthly Housing Price Index, an important new tool for analysing the housing market to be launched this month.

REINZ has been working with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on the development of stratified housing price measures for a number of months. The Institute’s current monthly residential sales reports are recognised as the most contemporary and up-to-date statistics on house prices and sales in New Zealand.

“While our data is timely and accurate, the new model takes the analysis a step further, stratifying the information to give an average of sale prices for common groups,” says REINZ National President Mike Elford. “Because our information is based on medians, if there is a significant change in a particular housing bracket it can skew the result. For example, if an unusually high number of homes in the $1 million-plus bracket were sold in one month, the median price could rise overall, even if the price for most mid-range homes remained the same.”

The new REINZ Monthly Housing Price Index, which will be published for the first time on 14 August, will give a more accurate analysis of house price movements at different price brackets and therefore a more complete overall picture.

There will be indexes for Auckland, Wellington and the rest of the North Island, Christchurch and the rest of the South Island. There will also be a REINZ Monthly Residential Section Price Index.

The Institute and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand plan further refinements of the REINZ Monthly Housing Price Index, including updating comparison periods, investigating complementary data sources and the introduction of new regional areas.

“We are delighted to be working with the Reserve Bank on this important information which is so relevant in the analysis of New Zealand’s economy,” says Mr Elford. “The real estate market has always been a crucial barometer of our financial health which is why the Institute has always placed such emphasis on the quality and validity of our statistics.”

ENDS

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