Hometrack

The Hometrack index is designed to give up-to-date and accurate information about prices and trends down to postcode level. The service was launched in September 2000. Information is gathered from nearly 5,000 estate agents. Comparisons are based on transactions agreed in the previous month.

The Homepage gives immediate access to the Latest News and Prices and Trends facility.

Latest News gives details of last month's performance by region, as well as other information. All that is required for Prices and Trends is to enter the postcode of the area you wish to enquire about. The search results come in the form of a Price Update. This is a series of easy-to-read graphs.

The first set relates to the average house prices and trends in the area under investigation. The second set relates to the three-month price trends for a larger area containing the postcode.

The first bar chart in both sets shows property prices across four types of property. These are terraced, semi-detached, detached and flats or maisonettes. The second chart indicates price trends across these four categories over the past four months. A third chart shows the average price of these four categories over a three-month period and the percentage price change.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Market Activity This is an expression of the pace of activity on the market. It shows the Time to Sell (in weeks) and the number of Viewings per Sale. Also given with these figures is the time taken to get an agreed sale. As with the Price Update, these figures are repeated for a wider area.

Market Demand This shows how many Registered Buyers there are with the estate agent in a given month. A change in the number of buyers is a good indication of future demand. Additionally the graph shows the position on the number of New Instructions. This shows whether the number has increased or decreased.

Change in Sales This shows either an increase or decrease in the number of offers that have been accepted by sellers. This figure gives a good indication of market strength.

A final chart shows in simple percentage terms the numbers of buyers registered, the instructions on the books and the changes in sales over the past three months.