Place to Place Indexes of the Price of Housing. Some New Estimates and a Comparative Analysis

This is a study of the variation in the cost of comparable housing among thirty-nine large SMSAs. The subject is the measurement of the variation rather than the determinants of it. The principal goal is to provide new constant quality, cross-sectional indexes of the price of housing. These indexes are calculated using Annual Housing Survey (AHS) data collected in 1974 and 1975. They are constructed for both owner-occupied and renter-occupied units.

The results of this study should be useful both to government personnel and to academicians interested in the operation of metropolitan housing markets. Additionally, since the variation of housinb costs is a key component of the variation in the overall cost of living, the results are useful to anyone interested in the subject of cross-sectional variation in the cost of living.