Better questions.
Clearer decisions.

A price index is a trend, not a price tag.

A repeat-sales index follows price changes for the same homes across transactions. The purchase-only FHFA series uses sales tied to mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. It does not represent every cash purchase, jumbo-financed home or property type.

For buyers

Use the trend as context, then compare the home with recent relevant sales and today’s alternatives.

For sellers

Use current comparable and competing homes, condition and preparation to develop a pricing strategy. Do not multiply your home’s value by an index change.

Keep in mind

Seasonal adjustment helps comparisons across quarters; publisher revisions can change earlier values. Index levels are not dollars or measures of which place is more expensive.

Inventory tells you about available choices.

Active inventory counts homes available at a point in time. New listings count homes entering during a period. More choices can change competition, but the price range, condition, area and pace of contracts still matter.

For buyers

Compare the alternatives that fit your needs and watch their price changes and time available.

For sellers

Look at the homes a buyer can choose instead of yours. Presentation and realistic pricing still matter.

Keep in mind

Do not compare a month-end active count with a month’s new listings as though they measure the same thing. No current local inventory measurement is included in this briefing.

Pending contracts and closings tell different stories.

Pending activity records homes entering contract during the source’s defined window. Closed sales record completed transactions, usually reflecting decisions made earlier. A pending contract may still fall through.

For buyers

Recent contracts can help frame competition; closed sales help support a price comparison.

For sellers

Ask about both current activity and completed sales rather than relying on one headline.

Keep in mind

Match geography, property type and comparison dates. A count of pending listings at one moment differs from new pending contracts over a month.

Days on market needs a definition.

Average days and median days are different. Listing days and cumulative days can also differ when a home is withdrawn or relisted. Some reports describe only homes that closed; unsold homes may be absent.

For buyers

Longer market time can prompt questions about price, condition and seller goals; it does not guarantee a discount.

For sellers

Use a realistic launch and review plan, including what to reconsider if qualified interest is limited.

Keep in mind

A metro statistic is not a promise about your selling time. Confirm the report’s measure before comparing it with another.

Median price can move because the mix changed.

The median is the middle sale price of the homes sold in the reporting period. If more expensive homes make up a larger share, the median can rise even when comparable homes did not gain the same amount.

For buyers

Compare like-for-like homes, not just the market’s middle price.

For sellers

Focus on relevant comparable evidence and competition at your price point.

Keep in mind

Keep median price, average price and repeat-sales indexes separate.

A headline rate is not your loan quote.

Mortgage pricing responds to bond markets, inflation expectations, loan structure and lender terms. A central-bank policy-rate change does not produce an equal mortgage-rate change. Survey averages may include particular points, fees and borrower assumptions.

For buyers

Ask your lender for a dated written scenario with rate, APR, points, closing costs and monthly obligations.

For sellers

Consider buyers’ total payment constraints and discuss how price or negotiated concessions may affect a specific transaction.

Keep in mind

No current mortgage-rate quote is published in this briefing. The calculators use your own documented assumptions.

Bring it back to your situation.

Use buyer cash & ownership planning or seller proceeds & preparation planning to frame your questions. Ask Erin to help connect the evidence to the home and goals you have in mind.

Definitions are educational; contract, lender and publisher definitions govern the specific situation. Price-index methodology: FHFA. See the current price briefing’s source and review record.