Guest post from Dianne Falaguerra with our partner agency CooperKatz

Monthly housing reports always trigger headlines.  And today’s National Association of Realtors Existing-Home Sales Report for November is no exception.  Here are three nuggets of information that might get lost in the media coverage:

1. Median existing home prices are going up: The November national median existing-home price for all housing types is $196,300.  This is $15,700 more than this time last year, and $32,100 more than November, 2011.
2. Homes are selling fast: The median time on the market for all homes was 56 days in November, which is approximately 8 weeks. Last year at this time, the average time on the market was 70 days, approximately 10 weeks.
3. And faster!: Maybe the most important stat was buried in the seventh paragraph.  Get this, 35% of all homes sold within 30 days.  Wow!

There is clearly demand for homes, but that demand is not being met by supply, since we also learned that inventory, the amount of homes available for sale, is at a 5.1 month supply.  While that might sound like a lot, it is a full month below a traditional balanced market of 6 months.  Therefore, in most locations around the U.S., supply is not meeting demand and therefore sellers are in the driver’s seat equating to higher prices.

One other interesting thing I find fascinating in each NAR report is the use of the term “median.”  Quick!  Are you smarter than a 5^th grader?  What’s the difference between median and average home price?

Median is the exact middle point of all homes sold while the average is the cumulative sales number, divided by the number of sales recorded.

But what does a median home look like?  I thought it would be fun to see and found five Coldwell Banker listings from around the nation that matched the nation’s current median price of $196,000:

• Beautiful ranch style home on three acres in Wakefield, NH
• 4-bedroom 2.5 bath family home in Lake Jackson, TX
• Home with two units – one to live and one to rent – in Prineville, OR
• 4-bedroom 2 bath home in Pooler, GA
• Home with a scenic lake view in Winter Haven, FL

What part of today’s report interested you the most?

Image courtesy of Flickr user morebyless