Internet update

Citation

Almond, N. (2008), "Internet update", Property Management, Vol. 26 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2008.11326eag.001

Internet update

Article Type: Internet update From: Property Management, Volume 26, Issue 5

The credit crunch has become a common phrase in real estate markets, often used as the reasoning behind the slowdown in the economy, impact on business decision making and weaknesses in the capital and debt markets. It is not just the commercial world that has been impacted. Residential markets too are feeling the pinch as the availability of debt to fund purchases dries up, or becomes more restricted. Understanding what is happening in the markets is not always easy. As an observer of the UK housing market for over a decade in a professional environment I have benefited the wealth of information on market pricing. But when the question is asked, what is happening to markets overseas, it is often met with a pause of silence, and muted response. With the increased interest in residential sector from investors, the need to understand what is happening elsewhere is becoming an ever increasing issue. For this editorial I have investigated what is available, highlight the range of different house price indicators which are available. The list is not intended to be exhaustive or a critique, but a review of some of the available sources.

The UK has to be the starting point. The two main indicators for house prices are the Nationwide (www.nationwide.co.uk/hpi) and Halifax (www.hbosplc.com/economy/housingresearch.asp). Both produce regular monthly bulletins on house price movements based on their loan portfolio. Details of their methodologies, based on that devised by Fleming and Nellis can be found on their respective websites. There is also a wealth of quarterly and annual data at a regional and city/town level available to download in excel, along with house price calculators for those wishing to talk about how much they have made (or lost) at the next dinner party.

Several other indices have emerged over the years. The land registry (www.landregistry.gov.uk/www/wps/portal/PrimaryWebsite) also produces indices based on returns to the land registry, which publishes detailed reports on local authority level on a quarterly basis. The UK Government (www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/) also houses a collection of housing data including house prices released monthly. In addition to these, Hometrack (www.hometrack.co.uk/) also has similar indices derived on agreed sales with estate agents.

The shift to greater openness of data has also led to the emergence of other suppliers of real data based on sales recorded by the land registry. This can enable individuals or companies to access details on actual sales. The level of detail on each transaction is limited, but can be a powerful tool. The property database is one such provider, who has a subscription based service (more details can be found at www.property-database.com).

So what of the rest of the world?

There is a growing collection of aggregated housing data at both a regional and global level. Starting in Europe, there are two obvious choices. The first is the RICS Housing Market Review (www.rics.org/Newsroom/Economiccommentary/ehr2008.htm) produced annually which not only covers house prices, but also provides the most detailed review of housing markets across Europe, and is for many considered a bible for the European housing market. If information is not available here, you will be hard pressed to find elsewhere. For those requiring data a useful starting point for aggregate numbers is the collection of statistics “Housing Statistics in the European Union”. The latest I could find was dated 2004 (www.eukn.org/netherlands/themes/Urban_Policy/Housing/Housing-Statistics-in- the-European-Union-2004_1058.html) produced by the European Urban Knowledge Network. Although, a little dated (and this is not a surprise in Europe) it is a useful repository of data.

Recently, I came across a collection of data on the Financial Times web site (www.ft.com/indepth/ukhousing). This site provides not only access to house price data, but also a range of related news articles from the Financial Times. Some information is free to view, but there are charges for some more premium content.

In the process of searching for more house price websites, I stumbled across a global property guide (www.globalpropertyguide.com) which provides summaries of housing markets for a number of countries with some useful data and pointers to further information. The Economist also produces house price statistics for a range of cities across the globe. The data is not readily available except from searching through past articles and some are restricted to subscribers. It is worth taking a look (www.economist.com/) to see what is available free-to-view.

Moving back to Europe there are a range of indices available. The main hurdle I have found is that many sites do not have sufficient “English” content to enable you to find appropriate data. The sites highlighted below are ones which either provide data, or are meant to have data on house prices. If you have the relevant language skills you may have better luck in searching out the appropriate data.

Spain always comes to the forefront of people’s minds given the explosion of development of holiday homes along the coastline. The Banco de Espana (www.bde.es/investigador/home.htm) produces research and papers on the Spanish housing market. In Germany, where renting predominates over ownership, house prices have not risen by the same extent. Hypoport, a (www.hypoport.com/indexes.html), provides a couple of indices for apartments new homes and existing homes.

In France there are a couple of potential sources. Try the French Estate Agency Federation (www.fnaim.fr/) or the National Statistical Office INSEE (www.insee.fr/en/default.asp). In Belgium the national bank has produced some articles on house price developments, although data seemed to be more tricky to find. Try your luck at (www.nbb.be).

For the Nordic region the national statistics websites provide some useful housing market data including national house price indices, mainly on a quarterly basis. Try the following links: Finland (www.stat.fi); Norway (www.ssb.no); and (Sweden (www.scb.se).

There are of course, other indices across Europe, and globally. Taking the wider view point, try the following sites:

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  Australia – www.reiaustralia.com.au

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  Canada – www.statcan.ca/

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  China – www.stats.gov.cn/english

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  Japan – www.reinet.or.jp/e/index.htm

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  South Africa – www.absa.co.za

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  USA – www.ofheo.gov

Finally, those wishing to show themselves up at the dinner party, why not discuss house prices in Columbia; the data I am told for the New House Price Index is available at (www.dane.gov.co/). If you have better luck, let me know!

Happy surfing.

Nigel Almond,Associate Director, Jones Lang LaSalle

Acknowledgements

The views expressed are those of the author and not those of Jones Lang LaSalle.