Q&A - How do you measure home prices? Great Seattle Times article.

Being an agent I see several conflicting reports monthly as to the current value of homes in the US. One report might reflect a 22% depreciation in home values while another might say 9% for the same period. It can be confusing. Here is a GREAT Q&A to help explain this. It covers the 2 most used methods and how they are impacted by Short-Sales and Foreclosures in determining house values. I believe there should be only one method used which would include all real estate transactions (including Short-Sales and Foreclosures) but they should also note what the appreciation/depreciation would be without factoring in the distressed properties. There are many areas whose numbers are dramatically different depending on how you slice and dice the information. One fact, that distressed properties are in all segments of housing in the Seattle area, though much more in the north and south areas, and that they need to be purchased in order to get the entire housing market back on track. Click here to see the entire Seattle Times Q&A on measuring home prices.