Housing · understand the whole bill
A house price and a housing bill are different.
The CPI housing component mainly tracks housing services such as rent, and the old series is urban only. It does not measure the purchase price of a home.
For a buyer, compare stamp duty, registration, mortgage interest, society charges, repair reserves, insurance, vacancy and the cost of tying up capital. For a tenant, compare similar locations, floor areas, furnishing and lease terms.
A move from a two-bedroom flat to a larger home mixes market inflation with a lifestyle upgrade. Keep those effects separate before changing a retirement target.
Build a like-for-like comparison
Write down the same quantity, quality, location, season and payment terms for both dates. Record the source and actual quotation date. Then add your proposed upgrade as a separate scenario.
Test the effect on your budget →Include ownership costs in the NRI property ROI calculator →
Evidence and limits
Historical inflation is not a forecast. A national index cannot predict a particular family’s school, medical, property or travel bill. The 2026 CPI base change means old and new index levels must not be directly spliced together.
Sources checked 5 Sep 2026. World Bank / IMF annual inflation series ↗ · MoSPI CPI releases and methodology ↗