Update to NJ - Bad, but not as bad as others

On May 14th the post NJ - Bad, but not as bad as others discussed how the NAR report differed significantly from the Zillow and Freddie Mac reports in the Atlantic City Area.

From the NAR Report: "Home prices in the Garden State rose in a number of areas, including the Atlantic City region, where the median sales price increased 4.8 percent in the first quarter, to $277,400.

Today in The Press of Atlantic City in an article titled Real Estate Agents Debate Local Statistics discusses doubts about the numbers being generated. Here are some of the interesting points:

Kevin Dawe, a real estate agent with Balsley Losco Real Estate in Northfield, said last week's report that the median home price in the Atlantic City area rose 4.8 percent in the first quarter didn't match what he's been seeing.

In particular, Dawe said the figures from the National Association of Realtors, and other information gathered from state and local Realtor groups, seemed to disagree with what the Multiple Listing Service showed.
...
Breunig had a theory as to why the NAR survey shows rising prices locally that real estate agents aren't seeing.

The Realtor survey tracks median home prices, the price at which half of all sales were for more, half for less.

The subprime mortgage crisis and subsequent credit crunch have made it far more difficult for low-end buyers to get a mortgage, he said, which has reduced the number of low-end sales. The homes that sell for disproportionately from the upper half of the market, artificially raising the median price.

Good to see others coming to the same conclusion for the same reason!