Recently, while browsing a blog post on The Economist's website, I encountered a detailed examination of housing prices coupled with interest rates. This analysis relied on over two decades of data concerning housing prices from both the UK and the US. In the United States, the house price index, which started at a baseline of 100 back in 1988, surged to a peak around 320 in 2006. However, it has since declined to approximately 220. Contrastingly, in the UK, a similar index began at 100 in 1995, reached about 370 in 2007, yet has only dropped to around 320 today. The article delved deeper into the reasons behind the more significant crash of US housing prices compared to those in the UK.
In India, unfortunately, there’s a distinct absence of such analytical capabilities due to the lack of available data. Despite real estate prices playing a pivotal role in the economy as well as in the everyday lives of citizens, they remain largely obscure within the broader context of the Indian economy. This situation becomes particularly frustrating considering that, with financial savings not being as robust as in Western nations, investments in real estate (along with gold) significantly constitute people’s overall savings.
Whether you're a researcher seeking decades worth of comprehensive data or an individual looking for a price map of specific units in a certain area, the lack of information leaves one feeling isolated. This deficit of quality data produces substantial repercussions, as it tends to favor the larger, more organized market players during transactions. As an individual, whether you're in the market to buy or sell, you often embark on a frantic search for information, ultimately left to navigate the landscape with whatever limited data adversaries choose to offer.
While the overall scenario might gradually clarify once the National Housing Bank’s Residex index accumulates sufficient historical data, individuals are likely to remain at a disadvantage regarding information unless innovative solutions emerge to bridge this gap.