National Statistician recommends improvements to official housing market statistics

Housing market statistics must be more accessible with key trends easier to identify, according to the National Statistician’s second stage review of housing market statistics.

The review also says that official private rental statistics and a private rental price index should be developed for the UK.

In addition, the review calls for local area statistics to be made available in all cases and be timely enough to be of use.

This report covers the second stage of the review and identifies ways in which producers of official housing market statistics can better meet users’ needs. It builds on the first stage of the review on house price statistics published in 2010.

Commenting on the report, National Statistician Jil Matheson, said:

“The housing market affects everyone in the UK in some way. Good quality statistics are essential for making informed decisions on housing, from central government planning to private individuals deciding whether to move, rent or buy.”

Background notes

1. The report of the National Statistician’s Review of Official Housing Market Statistics can be found here: http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/national-statistician/ns-reports--reviews-and-guidance/national-statistician-s-reviews/national-statistician-s-review-of-housing-market-statistics.html
2. The review of official housing market statistics took place in response to concern about whether the public and policy makers were getting the right information on the housing market at the right time to make informed decisions.
3. The National Statistician is the UK Statistics Authority's and the Government's principal adviser on official statistics. The National Statistician is the Head of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) and, as the Authority's Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary, is a member of the Board of the UK Statistics Authority.

4. Discussions were held with key users to assess how well the current official statistics meet user needs, together with gathering the views of a wider range of users. Recommendations were developed from these and further refined by the steering group in light of user feedback. © Crown copyright 2012.
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