The authorities wanted to take into account spending on housing when calculating inflation

The price of real estate in this case will not directly affect the consumer price index. The cost of maintenance, repairs, insurance will be taken into account. Rosstat will start the first studies on this topic in 2022

Residential property maintenance costs can be included in the calculation of the consumer price index (CPI, one of the main tools for calculating inflation). This is reported by Izvestia with reference to two sources close to the government. The possibility was also confirmed to the publication by Rosstat.

One of the interlocutors of Izvestia said that initially the inclusion of imputed rent in the CPI was part of the long-term plans of the statistical office. However, the rise in housing prices during the pandemic has prompted more prompt consideration of this issue.

They want to include housing costs in the calculation of the CPI not directly, but in the form of imputed rent - the cost of services for the maintenance of housing by the owners. Real estate prices will not directly affect the calculation of inflation - housing repairs, insurance, and other maintenance costs will be taken into account. Rosstat confirmed that they plan to analyze the use of this indicator to calculate inflation in the near future.

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Another source of the publication noted that the implementation of the new methodology will require a couple of years of research and development of the calculation scheme. Rosstat said that already in 2022 they will announce a competition for the implementation of a special research work, following which the possibility of including housing expenses in the calculation of the CPI from 2023 will be considered. The department, referring to the experimental calculations of 2015-2017, added that the spending of citizens on housing accounted for up to 20% of all their expenses.