SPAR (Sale Price Appraisal Ratio) is a model for constructing House Price Indexes on the basis of the ratios of transaction prices and previous Appraisal Values. It has been applied in New Zealand, Sweden and Denmark. This paper assesses the reliability of Appraisal Value and compares the SPAR Index with the Repeat Sales Index and the Hedonic Index based on the same transaction data. It presents preliminary empirical results for the Netherlands over a ten-year period. As SPAR appears to have more to offer than the more traditional methods, government agencies elsewhere would be well advised to consider it when developing indexes for price movements in the housing stock.@en

The so-called Sale Price Appraisol Ratio (SPAR) method has been applied in a number of countries to construct house price indexes. The method, which uses ratios of transaction prices and previous appraised values to build up an index, has been applied in New Zealand, Sweden and Denmark. This paper discusses the statistical properties of the SPAR price indexes and compares the SPAR with Repeat Sales Index created from the same transactions data. Preliminary empirical results for the Netherlands covering a period of over ten years are presented. As SPAR appears to have more to offer than the more traditional methods, government agencies elsewhere would be well advised to consider it when developing indexes for price movements in the housing stock.@en