The accreditation is granted to data which provide the highest levels of ‘trustworthiness, quality and value’ by the Office for Statistics Regulation.
The mortgage industry has several measures of house prices, however this is the first to achieve an official recognised status.
Improvements were made to the UK HPI in June 2016 when it was relaunched as a collaboration between ONS, Land Registry, The Land & Property Services, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and Registers of Scotland.
In a statement announcing the accreditation, the ONS said the UK HPI was the “most comprehensive and only official measure” of UK house prices.
“It’s the only indicator to include complete coverage of all transactions in the UK housing market and includes average prices across UK regions, differences in property types and the method of purchase,” it added.
Integrity of data
ONS head of prices Mike Hardie said: “This announcement is a testament to the hard work of ONS and its partners, the UK HPI has become the gold standard in measuring UK house prices.
“We are building on this success by leading on plans to develop new and innovative ways to collect and analyse housing data.”
HM Land Registry chief executive and chief land registrar Graham Farrant said: “This is excellent news – it is our first National Statistic and reflects recognition of the integrity of our data.”
The next edition of the UK HPI is due to be published on 19 September.
