Posts by Chris Jenkins

Rising to the challenge: How the ONS is developing inflation measures for the nations and regions

There is currently a lot of interest in how much prices are rising. Today we’re publishing inflation numbers for Northern Ireland. Here Chris Jenkins looks at our work to develop these figures with the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland as well as explaining why it’s not as easy to produce inflation data for the nations and regions as you might think.  

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Measuring rents: stock vs flow

Image of a wooden model of a house with a "for Rent" ticket attached to it.

Rental prices are a key element of the housing market, and we have seen these picking up since the impact of the pandemic. Our previous blog explained the importance of the private rental sector (PRS) and how we are working to make better use of detailed rental data to develop a clearer picture of what is happening within the rental market. Here, Chris Jenkins explains some of the differences between how rental data are measured.  

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Measuring the UK housing market?

Image of a house on a scales. There is a green up arrow on the left and a down arrow in red on the right of it

House prices and the state of the property market are an abiding national obsession. How much is my place worth, are prices rising around here and can I afford to buy yet? The coronavirus pandemic has made the task of collecting data about the housing and rental markets more challenging, but the ONS and others have  continued to produce figures. Here Chris Jenkins looks what they say about the state of the property market in pandemic so far.

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