Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

C4: price statistics. Purchasing power parities. Housing statistics.

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The House Price Index (HPI) measures inflation in the residential property market. The HPI captures price changes of all types of dwellings purchased by households (flats, detached houses, terraced houses, etc.). Only transacted dwellings are considered, self-build dwellings are excluded. The land component of the dwelling is included.

The HPI is available for all European Union Member States (except Greece), the United Kingdom (only until the third quarter of 2020), Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. In addition to the individual country series, Eurostat produces indices for the euro area and for the European Union (EU). As from the first quarter of 2020 onwards, the EU HPI aggregate no longer includes the HPI from the United Kingdom.

The national HPIs are produced by National Statistical Offices (NSIs) and the European aggregates by Eurostat, by combining the national indices. The data released quarterly on Eurostat's website include the national and European price indices, weights and their rates of change.

In order to provide a more comprehensive picture of the housing market, house sales indicators are also provided. Available house sales indicators refer to the total number and value of dwellings transactions at national level where the purchaser is a household. Eurostat publishes in its database a quarterly and annual house sales index as well as quarterly and annual rates of change.

The HPI is classified according to the following categories:

• H.1. Purchases of dwellings
  • H.1.1. Purchases of new dwellings.
  • H.1.2. Purchases of existing dwellings.

ESA 2010 sector S. 14 (Household sector).

In a few cases, the coverage of the indices refer to the dwellings purchased by all sectors. When this happens, indices are flagged with a 'd' (i.e., ‘definition differs’)..

The HPI is based on market prices of dwellings. Non-marketed prices are ruled out from the scope of this indicator. Self-build dwellings, dwellings purchased by sitting tenants at discount prices or dwellings transacted between family members are out of the scope of the indicator. It covers all monetary dwelling transactions regardless of its type (e.g., carried out through a cash purchase or financed through a mortgage loan).

The HPI measures the price developments of all dwellings purchased by households, regardless of which institutional sector they were bought from and the purpose of the purchase. As such, a dwelling bought by a household for a purpose other than owner-occupancy (e.g., for being rented out) is within the scope of the indicator. The HPI includes all purchases of new and existing dwellings, including those of dwellings transacted between households.

The number and value of house sales cover the total annual value of dwellings transactions at national level where the purchaser is a household. Transactions between households are included. Transfers in dwellings due to donations and inheritances are excluded.

The house sales value reflect the prices paid by household buyers and include both the price of land and the price of the structure of the dwelling. The prices for new dwellings include VAT. Other costs related to the acquisition of the dwelling (e.g., notary fees, registration fees, real estate agency commission, bank fees) are excluded.

Published data is as follows:

Annual House price index (2015 = 100, 2010 = 100) (prc_hpi_a)

• Annual average index
• Annual average rate of change

Quarterly House price index  (2015 = 100, 2010 = 100) (prc_hpi_q)

• Quarterly index
• Quarterly rate of change
• Annual rate of change

House price index - Item weights (prc_hpi_inw)

• Per thousand weights of the HPI for new and existing dwellings

House sales index of number of transactions (2015=100) - annual data ( prc_hpi_hsna)

• Annual average index
• Annual average rate of change

House sales index of number of transactions (2015=100) - quarterly data (prc_hpi_hsnq)

• Quarterly index
• Quarterly rate of change
• Annual rate of change
• Percentage in the year

House sales index of value of transactions (2015=100) - annual data (prc_hpi_hsva)

• Annual average index
• Annual average rate of change

House sales index of value of transactions (2015=100) - quarterly data prc_hpi_hsvq)

• Quarterly index
• Quarterly rate of change
• Annual rate of change
• Percentage in the year

Each published index or rate of change refers to transacted dwellings purchased at market prices by the household sector in the corresponding geographical entity. All transacted dwellings are covered, regardless of which institutional sector they were bought from and of the purchase purpose.

The target universe is all transacted dwellings purchased at market prices by households regardless of which institutional sector they were bought from and of the purchase purpose. These dwellings are located on the economic territories of the countries and refer to monetary transactions. The household sector to which the definition refers includes all individuals or groups of individuals irrespective of, in particular, the type of area in which they live, their position in the income distribution and their nationality status. These definitions follow the national account concepts in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).

European Union (EU), euro area (European Monetary Union), EU Member States (except Greece), the United Kingdom(only until the third quarter of 2020), Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.

The HPI data on EU aggregates and euro area start in 2005. At the country level the length of the time series is variable.

The annual index for the value of housing transactions (purchased by households) starts for most countries in 2010. The annual index for the number of housing transactions and the quarterly indices for the number and value of housing transactions start for most countries in 2015.

HPI is an annually chain-linked Laspeyres-type price index published using a common index reference period, with base 100 = 2015. Index numbers based on the previous base 100 = 2010 are also available from Eurostat’s website. The indices for the value of housing transactions purchased by households have the year 2015 as common reference period.

Following units are disseminated:

• Index: equal 100 in the index reference period
• Percentage change on previous period and for quarterly statistics, on the same period of the previous year (rates).

The following rounding steps are applied for the dissemination of the units:

Step 1: Quarterly index: 1 rounding step: quarterly index provided by countries are rounded on 2 decimals (except for CZ, DE and IT: 1 decimal);

Step 2: Annual average index: 2 rounding steps: the quarterly index provided by countries are rounded (see step 1 above) and then used to calculate the annual average index which are then rounded again on 2 decimals;

Step 3: Percentage change: 2 rounding steps: the quarterly index provided by countries are rounded (see step 1 above) and then used to calculate the quarterly or annual percentage change which are then rounded on 1 decimal.

Most countries apply the same rounding steps and use the same number of decimals in their national publications. Nevertheless, some countries may apply different rounding approaches that may lead in some cases to a difference of +/-0.01 in indices or +/-0.1 in rates of change expressed in percentage.

The national indices are compiled quarterly based on data for dwellings whose legal ownership was transferred from the seller to the buyer in the quarter of reference. The indices represent the whole calendar quarter.

The basic act for the compilation of the HPI and the Owner-occupied price index (OOHPI) is the European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) 2016/792, of 11 May 2016.

The basic methodological and technical specifications for the compilation of the OOHPI is given by the Commission Regulation (EU) 2020/1148 of 31 July 2020. A more comprehensive and developed implementing regulation is expected to take legal effect from the beginning of 2024 on. All of the above-mentioned regulations, as well as repealed legislation and further relevant documents, can be found in the Housing Price Statistics section on Eurostat's website under ‘Legislation’.

House Sales data are provided on a voluntary basis by the countries.

None.

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

According to policy rules (see point 7.1).

The HPI is released on a quarterly basis, at one quarter after the reference period.

Even if for the moment there is no release calendar for house sales indicators, the annual indices of housing transactions are mostly released in July-August of the following year after the reference period and the quarterly indices are mostly released about 4 months after the end of each quarter.

The release calendar for the HPI is published on the Eurostat website. The release dates of the Euro-Indicators are disseminated on Euro-Indicators Release Calendar.

In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat's website (see item 10 - 'Accessibility and clarity') respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.

Quarterly.

HPI news release, available online.

Statistics explained article for the HPI and House Sales, available online

Please consult free data online.

See further information on the available datasets under section 3.4 'Statistical concepts and definitions'.

None.

See Eurostat's Housing Price Statistics dedicated section.

A ‘Technical Manual on OOHPI and House Price Statistics’ and the ‘Handbook on Residential Property Prices Indices’ are available from Eurostat’s methodological webpage, under the ‘Manuals / handbooks’ section.

While the technical manual provides guidance and practical advice for the compilation of the HPI and OOHPI, the handbook was developed with guidance agreed at international level for the compilation of residential property price indices. The development of the handbook was coordinated by Eurostat and it has been jointly published with the International Labour Organization (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the World Bank.

A guidance note on the compilation of the HPI and OOHPI during the COVID-19 crisis, which was developed by Eurostat, is also available in the methodology page, under ‘COVID-19 - HPI and OOHPI’.

Not available.

Eurostat and NSIs are working continuously to ensure that the statistical practices used to compile national HPIs are in line with the methodological requirements defined for the HPI and in accordance with internationally accepted good practices in this field.

The quality of the HPI is accessed against a framework comprising of regulations, technical manuals and handbooks and other European Statistical System (ESS) quality dimensions. This framework aims to maintain and, where necessary, improve current practices, taking into account country-specific conditions.

The quality of the HPI is assessed regularly using the quality assurance framework. Evaluations undertaken by Eurostat in cooperation with Member States and other NSIs have revealed that the quality of HPI can be regarded as appropriate and that have significantly improved over time.

EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Eurostat are continuously working to maintain and improve the quality and the comparability of the indices.

The HPI has a variety of potential uses, namely:

• for assessing housing affordability over time;
• a measure of specific price trends;
• for inflation targeting;
• for monitoring economic imbalances and financial stability purposes;
• as input for national accounts purposes;
• as input to economic forecasting and analysis;
• as input for decision making in respect of the house market.

The HPI is suited for cross-country comparisons of the evolution of house prices.

No information.

All EU Member States (except Greece), Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey deliver HPIs. Indices are provided for all, existing and new dwellings by all countries that deliver data except Iceland (no purchases of new dwellings), and Switzerland (only provide the overall index).

The annual index and rate of change for the value of housing transactions is available for 21 EU Member States, Norway and the United Kingdom (until 2019).

The quarterly index and rate of change for the number and value of housing transactions are available for 16 EU Member States and Norway.

The accuracy of source data is monitored by assessing the methodological soundness of price and weight sources and the adherence to the methodological recommendations. There is a variety of data sources both for weights and prices (administrative data, National Accounts data, Household Budget Survey data, Construction Statistics, etc.).

The data collection depends on the data sources used across Member States. In some cases, the whole universe of transactions is used (e.g. administrative data). In other cases, surveys are used. The type of survey and the price collection methods are designed to ensure sufficient coverage and timeliness.

A potential source of bias can be related to the price concept used. The HPI produced by Member States, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland generally use transactions prices. This is in line with the objective of the indicator, which is to measure changes in the transaction prices of dwellings purchased by households. Nonetheless, even transaction prices (as recorded in administrative registers, for instance) may, in some cases, be subject to bias (underreporting). The NSIs assess the possibility of this bias, and when it is identified, corrective measures are implemented (for example, through the use of multiple data sources, expert judgement, etc.).

In cases where samples are used, the HPIs are statistical estimates subject to sampling errors because they are based on a sample of transactions.

The NSIs which are responsible for the compilation of national results do not generally produce numerical estimates of HPI sampling errors because they are difficult to quantify. Nonetheless, the NSIs are reducing the sampling errors by using a sample of transactions that is as large as possible, given data and resource constraints.

For the HPI non-sampling errors are generally not quantified. Eurostat and the NSIs try to reduce non-sampling errors through the introduction of methodological improvements and the development of data processing systems.

The HPI is released about one quarter and one week after the end of the reference quarter.

The HPI is released every quarter at 11:00 a.m. on the day of the ‘News Release on House Price Index’ (see Eurostat's release calendar at https://ec.europa.eu/news/release-calendar).

There are many issues that influence the geographical comparability of HPIs.

A key issue for the HPI is the heterogeneity of the housing market, where virtually every product (dwelling) bought and sold is different from the next one in some respect. The quality adjustment from one time period to the next has been a major methodological issue in compiling HPIs, with important consequences for cross-country comparability.

All these concepts mentioned above have been tackled during the OOH project and have been harmonised at EU level, based on a common set of accepted methods and approaches as described in the 'OOH/HPI Technical Manual' published by Eurostat (see section 11.1). Due to this harmonisation process, the HPI released by Eurostat can be considered as suited for cross-country comparisons.

The HPI data are considered fairly comparable over time. Nonetheless, because of several improvements in methodology, some breaks in time series exist. In such cases, if basic data allowed, back calculations were performed and historical series were revised.

There is only one set of HPI available.

HPI data are internal coherent. Higher level aggregations are derived from detailed indices according to well-defined procedures.

No information.

The HPI series are revisable under the terms set in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1148, of 31 July 2020. The published OOHPI data may be revised for mistakes, new or improved information, and changes in the system of harmonised rules

The HPI data are released quarterly, and it may include some provisional data for the latest (i.e., one to two) quarters. These are usually confirmed or revised to the final figures the following quarter(s). Information on revisions in the national HPIs due to methodological changes is available in Eurostat’s website, in the Housing Price Statistics dedicated section, methodology page, under ‘HPI country revisions due to methodological changes’).

The value of housing transactions index is usually final, but it might be revised as a result of new data collected and improvement of data sources/methodology.

Major revisions (usually affecting back data) occur rarely, in cases of significant data sources and methodological improvements. They are normally released with explanatory notes.

The change of reference year caused revisions to a few previously published rates of change because of rounding effects. Thus, rates of change for European and country aggregates calculated from the 2015=100 series can differ from the rates calculated from the 2010=100 series.

Data collection is carried out by the NSIs. Data sources for prices include, among other, administrative data sources, bank (mortgage) data, construction companies, and real estate agents. Weights are usually compiled from administrative data sources, national accounts data, Household Budget Survey data, Construction Statistics, or other sources.

Quarterly.

The data collection methods are chosen by the NSIs, depending on access to data, exhaustiveness, data quality, cost, variables available, timeliness and other relevant considerations.

Data validation is done by the NSIs; additional quality checks are carried out also by Eurostat.

The NSIs obtain the HPI sub-indices in one of the following ways:

• as an aggregation of stratum indices calculated either as hedonic indices or indices based on a method that replicates the matched model approach;
• as hedonic indices or indices based on a method that replicates the matched model approach;
• as a stratified median or mean index.

National HPIs are compiled as weighted averages of the HPI sub-indices. Weights are representative of the year t-1 and based on data on household expenditure on transacted dwellings that belong to the target universe of the HPI. They are adjusted to reflect the prices of the price reference period (the last quarter of the previous year).

The HPI aggregates for the euro area and the EU are calculated by Eurostat using the national HPIs provided by the Member States.

No seasonal adjustments are made.

Adjustments for quality mix and quality change: As the HPI aims at measuring 'pure' price changes, it should be unaffected by changes in quality of dwellings. In the process of index compilation, the NSIs control for variations from one quarter to the other in the amounts of the price determining characteristics of the properties.

The EU HPI data for 2019 includes the United Kingdom.

Since 2018, an aggregate for EU Member States without the United Kingdom has also been compiled.

As from 2020 onwards, the EU aggregate refers only to the 27 EU Member States. Data for the United Kingdom will nevertheless remain available. 

More information can be found in the 'Note to users - Dissemination of European statistics after Brexit'.