A change to the methodology used to compile the Halifax house price index, a key measure used by the Treasury and the Bank of England, will bring it into line with rival measures that point to a more sluggish housing market.
Lloyds Banking Group will disclose the impact today when it publishes the tweaked index for August.
Paul Smith, economics director at IHS Market, the consultancy that compiles the index, first published in 1983, said the new system had been tested on data going back to 1992. “It brings us more into line with other indices over the last year or so,” he said.
