From a reader in the comments:
I looked at the MLS sales volume and median sales prices year over year today, and sales volume is up about 38% for SFRs and condo/TICs, from 1354 in 2009 to 1875 in 2010. Median price is also up across just about all price tiers I looked at, which were 650 – 800K, 800K to 1M, 1M to 2M, 2 to 3M, and 3M or higher. 3M or higher was the only one that showed a lower median, and it was down about 70K. But there have been 35, 2010 sales to 19, 2009 sales for that tier.
Thank you.
That is an absolutely absurd way to look at medians and yields nothing but ridiculous spin. Median prices broken down by price tiers is just total nonsense as anyone who learned about medians in 7th grade could tell you.
Guess what, the median sale price for houses in Modesto in the $500k-$520k price tier is exactly the same as it was in 2006! Wow, same thing in the $400k-$420k tier! I guess prices in Modesto have not fallen at all!
I did it by price tier to try to put a fine point on buyer demographic, and to avoid mix. The median for the entire condo + TIC + SFR market looks like this, ytd (1/1-6/10), YoY:
2009: 1396 sales 675K median
2010: 1915 sakes 705K median
I like to talk about this stuff, and am happy to do so. But I can do without “absurd + ridiculous spin + nonsense + 7th grade + Modesto + 2006! + prices not fallen!” or similar.
Why is Anon fighting with Anon? :)
Considering the argument was, “Don’t talk about median with tailored price ranges,” even though that’s probably the best use of median in real estate, I don’t know if I’d call it a fight.