Today (Tuesday 18 September) the UK House Price Index (UK HPI) has been designated as a National Statistic by the Office for Statistics Regulation. The independent regulator has judged that the statistics provide the highest levels of "trustworthiness, quality and value".
The UK HPI is the most comprehensive and only official measure of UK house prices, helping to inform government, the housing industry and buyers on the state of the sector. It’s the only indicator to include complete coverage of all transactions in the UK housing market and includes average prices across UK regions, differences in property types and the method of purchase.
Commenting on the designation of the UK HPI as a National Statistic, Mike Hardie Head of Prices for Office for National Statistics (ONS) said:
“This announcement is a testament to the hard work of ONS and its partners, the UK HPI has become the gold standard in measuring UK house prices. We are building on this success by leading on plans to develop new and innovative ways to collect and analyse housing data.”
The improved UK HPI was launched in June 2016 as a collaboration between ONS, HM Land Registry, Land and Property Services, Northern Ireland Statistics, and Research Agency and Registers of Scotland. Since the launch, we have produced 27 monthly releases, published five guidance documents, two annual articles and held four user events.
Graham Farrant, Chief Executive and Chief Land Registrar, HM Land Registry said:
“This is excellent news – it is our first National Statistic and reflects recognition of the integrity of our data.
“The UK HPI uses housing market data to provide a transparent view of the housing market. This ensures the UK HPI data is robust and statistically relevant for the variety of industries that use it and it aligns with our ambition to be the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.”
The UK HPI is due to be published at 9:30am on 19 September 2018.
Notes to editors
The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is the regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority. OSR provides independent regulation of all official statistics produced in the UK assessed against the Code of Practice for Statistics. Statistics are an essential public asset. OSR ensures public confidence in the trustworthiness, quality and value of statistics produced by government.
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