There was an interesting article published in the Hartford Business Journal yesterday regarding local condo sales. For the first six months of this year, condo sales are off by more than 16% in Hartford County compared to 2006. However, the median price is up 1.5% over 2006. Huh? With more inventory sitting out there longer, why aren’t buyers paying less?
My guess is that we are talking median sales price vs. mean sales price. I ran a quick MLS search, and if you compare condo sales prices for the first half of 2006 to the first half of 2007 in Hartford County, the average (mean) sales price is down .5% in 2007. By using the median measurement (half the values below the middle point and half above the middle point), you are able to paint a positive picture.
Moral of this story: always question statistics because they can almost always be spun in a positive or negative light… And if you’re a condo buyer right now, you should have some leverage negotiating a better price. There’s a lot of inventory out there to choose from and sellers are sitting on their condos longer.