The house price index (HPI) tracks the price development of residential properties (single-family houses, semi-detached houses, terraced houses and flats) for which a private household acts as buyer. The data used for this purpose comes from the purchase contracts sourced from the land register. In addition to the overall index, a distinction is made between new and existing dwellings and between existing houses and flats. The index serves as an important European indicator of economic development and the business cycle.
The owner occupied housing price index (OOH PI) is a measure of the price changes of goods and services associated with owning and maintaining dwellings for one's own use and is intended to complement the harmonised consumer price index (HICP), which currently only includes costs associated with renting. The legal basis for the compilation of the HPI and the OOH PI are national (BGBLA 2019 II 177) and European regulations (2016/792 and 2020/1148).