Metric Definitions

Metric Definitions

Active Inventory is the number of properties available for sale.in an active status at the end of the month, based on the purchase contract date.

Absorption Rate or Months Supply of Inventory is the number of months it would take to sell through the available inventory at the current sales rate. These terms are often used interchangeably.

Cash Sales is the percent of listings that closed with a cash offer, typically calculated from the buyer financing. 

Closed Sales is the number of properties sold each period.

Closed over List Price is the percentage of listings that closed above the last list price.

Days on Market is typically the median number of days between when a property is listed and the contract date.  It may/may not included Coming Soon or non-Active status time periods.  MLS rules vary on how this is calculated, so check with your MLS if you have additional questions.

Distressed Listings is the percent of properties listed in some form of non-standard conditions (Foreclosure, REO, Short Sale).

Home Affordability Index (HAI)  The Index measures housing affordability for a region. In other words, does a typical family earn enough to qualify for a mortgage on a typical home, based on current interest rates, median income, and median home prices.  A higher number means greater affordability.

List Price is the current list price for a property.

List Price Received/List to Sold Price Ratio is the sales price divided by the final list price expressed as a percentage.

New Listings is the number of properties listed each period  regardless of current status.

Original List Price is the first, or original list price for a property.

Pending Fallout is a listing that falls out of a contract.

Pending Sales or New Pendings or New Contracts is the number of properties newly under contract based on purchase contract date.

Price Changes
  1. Number of Price Changes is the number of listings that had one or more price changes each period.
  2. Percent of Price Change is the average percent of net price changes each period.
Price per Square Foot (PPSF)/Sold $ per SqFt is the price divided by the square footage of the property.  When aggregated as a metric, it is the median of the PPSF for closed listings.

Sold Dollar Volume is the sum of the Close Price for all sold properties each period.

Sold Price or Close Price or Sales Price
  1. Median Sold Price is the mid-point value where the price for half of the closed sales is higher and half is lower. This is the more economically correct metric for prices.
  2. Average Sold Price is sum of the sold dollar volume divided by the number of units sold. This often over states the economics of the market dues to properties in the upper price ranges skewing the data.
Unsold Listings are listings that are either expired or withdrawn.
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