Data and Appendix for The Price and Quantity of Residential Land in the United States

 

by Morris A. Davis and Jonathan Heathcote

 

  • For the detailed data appendix, click here (Nov. 2006)

 

  • For quarterly data, 1975:1 – current quarter (house price index from OFHEO), click here
    (all-transactions OFHEO from 1975:1 – 1990:4, purchase only (seasonally adjusted) from 1991:1 – current)

 

  • For quarterly data, 1975:1 – current quarter (house price index from Macromarkets/CSW), click here
    (all-transactions OFHEO from 1975:1 – 1990:4, purchase only (seasonally adjusted) from 1991:1 – 1997:4, Macromarkets/CSW from 1998:1 - current)

 

  • For annual data, 1930 – 2000, click here

 

 

Data key for quarterly (1975:1 – current) and annual (1930-2000) data

 

LAND_NOM

Aggregate market value of residential land

MKVAL_NOM

Aggregate market value of homes

STRUC_NOM

Aggregate replacement cost of residential structures

LAND_PI

Price index for residential land

MKVAL_PI

Price index for homes

STRUC_PI

Price index for residential structures

CONS_PI

Price index for consumption

 

 

Notes on quarterly and annual data sets:

  1. Market values are in billions of current dollars.  Price indexes are set such that 2000:Q2 = 1.0.
  2. “Aggregate” refers to non-farm residential units, owned and rented.  It does not include mobile homes and does not include residences owned by nonprofits.
  3. Our estimate of the replacement cost of residential structures will not match what is published by the BEA.  We use the BEA estimates, excluding (a) all residential equipment, (b) the replacement cost of residential farm structures, (c) mobile homes, and (d) structures owned by non-profits.  Unlike the BEA, we do not consider expenditures on “broker’s commissions” to be gross investment in structures, and we adjust the BEA’s estimate of the replacement cost of residential structures accordingly (see the paper and appendix for details).

 

 

Notes on annual data (only):

  1. Our house- and land- price indexes are not going to be accurate on a year-by-year basis.  These series are indicative of longer-run trends.
  2. Our data do not pass through our Census estimate of 1940.  Therefore the 1930-1950 house and land price series are especially inaccurate