Misleading “Median”
If you averaged temperatures in the Sahara and Antarctic, you’d get a mild 60 degrees or so — and a meaningless statistic.
In a nutshell, that’s my reaction to the most recent Twin Cities housing statistics, showing that the median Twin Cities home sales price in January was $140,000.
But that number means virtually nothing, because it’s a blend of two very different statistics:
For the 55% of January sales that were foreclosures or short sales, the median sales price was $89,682.
By contrast, the median January sales price for (non-lender mediated) “traditional sales” — the remaining 45% of the market — was $201,500.
That last number is actually a 2% increase from a year ago.
You can’t necessarily conclude that short sales and foreclosures sell for less than half of traditional sales, because smaller, less expensive homes comprise a disproportionate share of short sales and foreclosures.
However, it’s patently obvious to Realtors, buyers, and banks that foreclosures in particular sell at a steep discount.
