The latest version of RESIDEX is not only wider in terms of geographic coverage, but also more detailed, as it provides a micro understanding of residential housing prices. RESIDEX will in future capture house price data from over 100 cities across the country. At present, the index covers 21 capital cities and 24 states, including 20 ‘smart cities’ and 9 additional cities beyond what was documented previously. RESIDEX’s update involved streamlining the entire process of data collation, data sorting, formulation of indices, and building a new digital framework- which made the overall task both complex and enormous in scope. This endeavour would have not been successful without the generous support from CERSAI and other banks and HFCs who shared valuable data with us. In addition, the technical assistance rendered by Liases Foras- the external agency hired to build and develop RESIDEX is noteworthy.

RESIDEX is however not just an index, but also a database of housing prices up to neighbourhood levels, in all cities covered. In the coming months, RESIDEX will offer three other price and cost indices relevant to the study of housing in India. These include house rent index, land price index, and building material price index. We therefore envision RESIDEX to be of great use to diverse stakeholders within the housing industry including, but not limited to- individual homebuyers, developers, lenders and policy makers.

With housing in India becoming a major cause for concern, the need for a freely accessible and accurately determined house and land price index is more important than ever before. In recent years, a series of positive steps have been initiated by the Government of India in order to correct the housing shortage and distributional imbalance. The introduction of PMAY, followed by interest rate subvention schemes, RERA bill and benami property act are directly aimed at rationalising the real estate market in India. Budget 2017 too, marked the government’s acknowledgement of a skewed real estate market that does not cater to the country’s affordable housing needs. Efforts are also being made to increase the economic capacities of households, so as to ensure greater end-user participation in the housing markets. In line with these developments, RESIDEX will establish higher efficiency in the housing market and enable local governments to achieve their housing goals successfully.