What's in a Price?
What's in a Price?
A Comparison of National Home Price Series
Since all real estate is local, interpreting changes in home prices at the national or metropolitan level can be difficult. Not only that, but with so many housing price measures it can also be difficult to determine what the data each series presents is saying about the housing market. In order to break down the various series and detail their differences, the Research Division has compared the four major home price indexes that market participants follow. They are the National Association of REALTORS® Median Sales Price, the Case-Shiller Index group, and two Conventional Mortgage Home Price Indices: one by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) and one by Freddie Mac.
What's in a Price: A Comparison of National Home Price Series (235.77K PDF)
The following Commentary articles also offer more insight into the different home price series:
Home Pricing: The Inside Story
High Highs and Low Lows; the Story of A Bi-Polar Index
For questions or more information, please send e-mail to data@realtors.org.
