THE Central Statistics Office (CSO) is to launch a House Price Index next month which will reveal the average prices paid for each type of dwelling around the country since 2005.

The data is based on information from eight financial institutions which has been handed over to the CSO as part of a European-wide harmonised consumer price index for property prices which will come into force next year.

The index, based on the drawdown of mortgages each month, will be able to calculate the average price per square metre paid for each type of property and how those prices have changed over the last six years, according to CSO statistician Niall O’Hanlon.

The index will therefore be able to track the way each segment of the market is performing, so for example, we’ll be able to see if theres been a collapse in demand for one-bed flats or an increased demand for family homes.

A report on the state of the market will be released each month after the launch of the index on Friday, May 13. A worrying date but we already know the horrors it’s likely to contain. Meanwhile, the Department of Finance has also been working on a house price plan, but its priority will probably be related to the possible introduction a property tax instead of a wider view of the market.