Beware of Average Home Price Quotes in the Media- Especially SLO county.

When seeing statistics in the news media such as "The Average Price of a Home fell 3% last month in the County",  be cautious of how much that information really means to you.   That is especially true in our location.   Here's why- The average price is determined by taking the total $ amount of all of the sales in the county and dividing them by the number of sales.  Sounds correct enough and it is a correct number.  So, why I am saying why you need to be cautious of using that information?

Sales Rise Higher in November

Closed escrows in November 2009 were 32% higher over November 2008 for Northern San Luis Obispo County. This is a dramatic change and indicative of buyer's acceptance of today's lower pricing. There were also 31% more escrows opened in 11/09 then 11/08 so we are definitely on a positive trend.
Most activity is still in homes priced below $450,000. There is also more activity in the mid range and a little more in the $800,000.00 range but these areas are still feeling pressure.