The National Statistician (available for after dinner speeches, bar mitzvahs etc) has begun his investigation into the efficacy of our house price indices. He'll spend this year focussing on the two reports issued by the Government: the Land Registry index, and the index published by the Department for Communities and Local Government. After that, he'll look at the Halifax and Nationwide indices (formulated by examining loan data), the Rightmove index (formulated by examining asking prices) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors report (formulated by throwing tea leaves against a brick wall while chanting).

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