The Memphis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) has published its two versions of March, 2012 residential sales statistics.
Take your pick
The Report Based on Recorded Deeds
MAAR usually publishes a report based on recorded deeds in Shelby, Tipton, and Fayette Counties (Tennessee) early in the month following the reporting period.
Wow, this report shows a 21.4 YTD increase in unit sales and a 19.8% increase Y-O-Y for March. Median and average prices are still trending downward. That variation between average and median indicates there are still a lot of lower priced properties being sold. Download the full report for a detailed breakdown of sales info.
The Report Based on MLS Data
Later in the month, MAAR publishes sales data for the prior month from the Multiple Listing Service, which reflects sales from areas within the 3 county area, but also sales from other parts of west Tennessee, eastern Arkansas and north Mississippi that MLS members are involved in. So we are not really comparing apples to apples in these 2 reports.
The MLS report shows a more modest 8.2% sales increase Y-O-Y for March and a 14.9% YTD increase, based on units. Average and median prices are still in a downward trend for the year, with prices significantly different from the report above. Median price for march could have been skewed by a larger number of high-priced sales or a lowered number of reported low-priced sales. I like to track the YTD numbers- monthly can be a bit fickle. Download the full report for much more detailed information.
And there’s another player in the real estate sales numbers game
Daily News/Chandler Reports monthly sales report is drawn from a totally different data set and has consistently provided residential sales information for many years. Their headline for the March report read: Home sales up 18%! – reporting sales unit numbers fairly close to MAAR’s first (recorded deeds based) report, yet with enough variation to warrant some attention.
So what is the consumer, homeowner, real estate agent to make of all of this? Well it all depends on the data being crunched, and obviously there are at least 3 sets of data out there. So remember what I say in this post just about every month:
ALL REAL ESTATE IS MICRO-LOCAL
Consult a professional who knows YOUR community.
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What do you think? Leave your comments.