NBO to launch housing index by March '09

Do you know that there is a reality prices index as our stock market index

Extracts from economic times

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked a government agency that collects statistics on the country’s housing construction activities to launch a housing start-up index by March 2009, to help it assess the impact of fiscal and monetary stimulus offered to revive the sector. 

The index, to be launched by the National Building Organisation (NBO) under the ministry of housing & urban poverty alleviation, will offer reliable data to RBI and other government agencies, facilitating speedy decision making. 

A senior NBO official, who asked not to be named, said the index would be released on a quarterly basis. It will be made available on a monthly basis later. The base year of the index is 2003-04. 

All major economies use similar indices to assess economic activity using demand and supply data on the housing sector. As housing is a sector with high forward and backward linkages, the proposed index will be useful in assessing demand and supply situations in other sectors, such as cement and steel.

sources:Extracts from economic times