Sometimes realtors, as well as contractors and bankers, like to use average prices because it stokes higher prices and many of these folks get paid on a commission (% of sales price) basis. But median price more accurately reflects the market place. For example, the Sacramento Bee reported on October 19 that the median price for houses in Placer County was $494,500 in September.

Average vs. Median
What's the difference? Here's an example. Suppose three generations of a family get together around a dinner table. The ages of the ten people at the table are as follows:
--Three are youngsters at 10 years of age each
--Two are 20 years of age
--Two are 30
--Two are 40
--One is 200 years old, a real 'ol timer!

What is a representative age for those at the table? Well, the average age is 41. You calculate this by adding all the ages together (410) and dividing by ten people. But certainly 41 is not a fair representation of the ages of those present. The median age of those gathered, however, is 25. Half the people are older than 25; half are younger. Doesn't the median give you a more accurate picture?

Here's a hypothetical, real estate example. Suppose ten houses were sold last week in your neighborhood. Here are the selling prices:
--Three were sold for $100,000 each
--Two were sold for $200,000 each
--Two were sold for $300,000 each
--Two were sold for $400,000 each
--One was sold for a whopping $2 million

The average price is $410,000 even though only one house sold for near this
price. The median price, on the other hand, is $250,000--half the houses sold for less, half for more.

The point is: numbers can be tricky. Watch out for juju.