What you are telling us about the housing market

Every month, some 1,500 households across the country tell us what they think has happened to the value of their home over the last month, and what they expect to happen to its value over the next year. This data is then crunched into something called the House Price Sentiment Index, or HPSI for short. The name doesn’t trip off the tongue, but the index, produced in conjunction with Markit Economics, gives us a good glimpse into the housing market. Sentiment is important for housing — it can determine decisions by discretionary buyers, those who are not motivated by necessity, such as a move for work, for school or to house a growing or shrinking family. Anyway, back to the HPSI (the name will start to grow on you, promise). What it showed this month was that sentiment in the housing market eased somewhat. Before I start on the figures I will explain how the HPSI works.