Various House Surveys Explained
In the UK every month there are various surveys by independent parties that record UK house prices.
The Nationwide Building Society produces its own house price index, the results of which are released first every month. The house price index is based mortgage lending it provides to house buyers. It uses information such as size and location to get an average price. Nationwide accounts for 13% of the UK property market sales.
The Halifax uses its own home lending information to produce its own house price index. Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, publishes its data a few days after Nationwide, and accounts for 20% of the UK market. It is the biggest mortgage lender in the UK.
The Land Registry produces its data much later in the month and is thought to be the most accurate of all surveys. It produces an average price from data on houses that have sold multiple times in England and Wales only, since 1995.
Register of Scotland produces its own index based on average house prices.
The Land and Property Services produces a quarterly house price index, and is assisted by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
The ONS (Office for National Statistics) is an index used by the UK Government and is also held in high regard in terms of quality of information. It produces its house price index based on data from the regulated survey by the CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders), and uses information from all of UK. It does not include cash buyers of property.
The RICS survey is based on information of the property market, and sentiment of its own members.
There are other surveys produced by Hometrack, which is a review of house prices in UK cities, and Rightmove which uses asking prices.