Index has different meanings. These include either an alphabetically arranged (or arranged in any other order) list of items, names, etc. It also means a measure or indicator of anything. It also means the value of anything which is linked to the value of a master price index in the stock market.
Indexes are used in the stock market and a real estate index or REI is the average of the annual appreciation of the industry based upon a specific timeline (usually 25 years) and other parameters. This number is tweaked after each cycle of evaluation by the market authorities.
The biggest use of index in the sector is through real estate or property indexes. Any home price index or HPI will track the changes in prices of residential housing units within a specified timeline. For example, the Republic of Ireland has its Central Statistics Office releasing a residential property price index each month. In India as well, the National Housing Bank, which is owned by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India), releases its NHB RESIDEX which is an index. This covers major regions, real estate transactions and other details. The new housing price index is used in Canada and is released by Statistics Canada each month. A resale house price index is also present, maintained by the CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association) on the basis of sales prices reported by agents (across regions).
