Abstract
The sale price appraisal ratio (SPAR) method has been applied in a number of countries to construct house price indexes. This paper reviews the statistical and index number properties of the SPAR approach. Three types of SPAR indexes are distinguished: a weighted index, which aims at tracking the price change of the stock of owner-occupied houses, and two unweighted indexes, an arithmetic one and a geometric one. We also discuss stratified versions of these indexes and show how stratification can be used to estimate an expenditure-based Laspeyres-type price index. Empirical results for the Netherlands are given and compared with the repeat-sales index published by the Dutch land registry until January 2008.