“Averaging” Dissimilar Things = Meaningless

What is the average weight of Laurel and Hardy?

Answer:  if you “average” a 150 pound man and an 350 pound man, you get 250 pounds — and a totally meaningless statistic.

So, too, housing statistics that blend dissimilar markets — or even different neighborhoods within the same market — yield meaningless “averages.”

In a nutshell, that’s my beef with over broad housing benchmarks that purport to show a coherent picture of the “national” housing market.

Keep that in mind as you read the latest batch of statistics — due this week — reporting how home sales fared this Summer.

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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