Since the Great Financial Crisis erupted, house prices have come under the spotlight. But these reflectors really didn't reflect much.
While reliable indices exist for the prices of goods and services, not to mention other dimensions of the economy, from GDP to interest rates, house prices have traditionally received little statistical attention. Perhaps because the market is too fragmented and too many and too different 'types' of homes.
But much attention has since focused on house prices, and both the OECD and the IMF have collated the available statistics instigating improvements. In America we have at least three reliable indexes today (CoreLogic, Case-Shiller and FHFA). But in Australia they want to go further, and soon there will be a house price index (RP Data-Rismark Home value Index) with even daily updates (what if it rains that day and there have been few sales? Perhaps it will need to be seasonally adjusted...) . And this index, it is expected, will also be used to construct derivatives and protect against rash changes in prices. Stay tuned…
http://www.theage.com.au/business/housing-index-first-20120301-1u5tr.html
