A technical assistance (TA) mission was conducted from June 5–9, 2023, to assist the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) with the initial stages of the development of a Residential Property Price Index (RPPI). This was the first mission to Kosovo dedicated to the RPPI. The mission completed the following tasks: (i) examined all potential data sources (ii) contributed to capacity building by providing training on RPPI compilation (iii) agreed next steps for the development of the RPPI and (iv) assessed the required resources for RPPI development.

2. The authorities are strongly committed to developing a publicly available RPPI for Kosovo. Reliable property price indexes and other indicators of real estate markets are essential for the assessment of developments and risks in property markets and understanding the linkages between property markets and financial soundness, as well as to IMF surveillance.

3. As the official compiler of the RPPI, the KAS should assign a dedicated resource to this project by end-July 2023. The assigned individual will need to have some familiarity with statistical software packages and be open to learning new statistical techniques. Once a resource has been assigned and initial data files are received, the development of the RPPI will take approximately two years from start to finish.