Do Statistics Lie?

No, but they can be sliced and diced in so many ways. There was a headline in the business section of this morning's St. Petersburg Times "Home sales drop, prices climb" and one of the graphs showed a 10% increase in median sale price in the Tampa Bay Florida area to $237,800 (August 2005 to August 2006). Now this will no doubt encourage local sellers to expect higher prices and this may be the headline they remember - but the statistics were for a three county area, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco. That covers a lot of geographic area and many different markets. Hillsborough and Pasco, for example, have much more new construction than Pinellas does - so the price climb may not refer to a typical new or old house, but to the mix between larger and newer homes and older smaller homes.  When you look at  just Pinellas county, you'll see that the median price actually went down 12.4% for the same period. Then if you look at a particular neighborhood, figures will also vary, as will statistics for 2 bedroom homes vs 4 bedroom homes. 

So, slice and dice your statistics and look at them in different ways, so that you can review all the aspects with your sellers - and buyers. And analyze what goes into the statistics and whether that's appropriate to the conclusion.

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent serving St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.