2
$\begingroup$

I got my hands on an interesting dataset of property transfers covering four decades and I'm unsure of how to properly inflate prior-year sale prices.

I typically use the 'bushel basket' metro CPI-U to adjust dollar amounts, but I'm wondering if I should specifically use the 'housing' index instead of the full bushel basket? What would be the benefits/drawbacks of using the more targeted price index?

Additionally, what sort of price index should I use to adjust commercial property transfers if I were to include those into the analysis?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
  • $\begingroup$ A good answer to this depends on what you want to do with the deflated series. For example trying to understand the relative price of housing and consumer costs versus the price of housing versus the construction costs of new houses. $\endgroup$ – BKay Feb 15 '15 at 12:53
  • $\begingroup$ I'm trying to understand factors that influence housing prices inside the county, so I'm guessing the overall consumer costs are probably best suited. Would you say that the BLS CPI-Housing index is more for new construction, not necessarily older stocks of housing? $\endgroup$ – Joe Andre Feb 19 '15 at 19:42
  • $\begingroup$ My understanding was the CPI House Price Index uses a rent and owners’ equivalent rent for the price of housing and attempts to fix the quality. SO it isn't a construction price index. $\endgroup$ – BKay Feb 19 '15 at 19:56

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.