Halifax sells off its house price index
03-11-2015
Longest running monthly house price index will keep the Halifax brand after sale to Markit
Halifax sells its monthly house price index to Markit. Photograph: Chris Ison/PA
Rupert Jones
It has been a key barometer of the UK property market for more than 30 years, but now the Halifax House Price Index has been sold to a leading provider of financial data.
Markit, a London-based company listed on the Nasdaq index in the US, has paid an undisclosed sum for the house price index, which is published monthly by the Halifax. It is the UK’s longest running monthly house price series, with data covering the whole country going back to January 1983.
However, the nation’s property market watchers have been reassured that it will be business as usual after the deal completes later this year. The index will continue to be published by the Halifax and carry the bank’s branding, and the methodology will remain the same for the short term at least.
Explaining the reason for the sale, a spokeswoman for the Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, said the house price index was originally launched as a tool for the media, but over the years had developed into a major financial benchmark that was widely used by external companies and organisations.
In recent years, rival institutions have launched financial products linked to the index, and Markit is expected to develop this aspect of the brand and roll out further housing market-linked products.
“The original purpose of it and what it is today are two very different things,” the spokeswoman said. “It is not really a core part of our business, and it makes sense for someone like Markit to administer it.”
Markit calculates more than 14,000 indices around the world. As part of the deal, the company has bought the index and all associated intellectual property.
Stephen Noakes, managing director of retail customer products at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We believe Markit is an ideal partner to take on the administration of the Halifax House Price Index, given they are a globally renowned index provider.”