In Lanser’s column [More indexes to bet on [OCR]](http://blogs.ocregister.com/lansner/archives/2006/04/more_indexes_to_bet_on_1.html) he announces that there will be house-price indexes offered by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) as an alternative to the [Chicago Merc’s indexes](http://matrix.millersamuelv2.wpenginepowered.com/?p=501) that will begin trading on April 26th.

This index will be based on the NAR’s price benchmarks. [Here are the details [CBOE]](http://www.cboe.com/aboutcboe/ShowDocument.aspx?DIR=ACNews&FILE=20060317e.doc). I am a bit surprised that financial instruments would be based on stats provided by a trade group rather than an independent resource.

They are expected to offer a

* national index

* four regional indexes (northeast, south, midwest and west)

* 10 metropolitan areas to be named.

This is a bit out of my domain but I don’t think this type of trading is a zero-sum game. Does anyone have thoughts on this topic?