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Homes in Monterey County, California, are some of the most expensive in the Unites States. This home comprises roughly 1,800 sq. ft. and is valued at approximately $700,000.

There are two major ways in which aggregate home prices are reported: median and mean (average). Prices are also calculated by square foot, using both the mean and median price. Real estate prices have had a profound impact on urban, as well as the suburban and rural landscape. The most important government measurement of home prices in the United States is the house price index. Median house prices are reported for metro areas and regions of the country by the private National Association of Realtors.^[1] Image File history File links Nuvola_apps_browser. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x766, 751 KB) Summary I shot the picture myself then edited it using my own Photoshop software. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x766, 751 KB) Summary I shot the picture myself then edited it using my own Photoshop software. ... Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. ... In probability theory and statistics, a median is a number dividing the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution from the lower half. ... In statistics, mean has two related meanings: the average in ordinary English, which is also called the arithmetic mean (and is distinguished from the geometric mean or harmonic mean). ... The city of San Luis Obispo, an example of an urban area. ... Illustration of the backyards of a surburban neighbourhood Suburbs are inhabited districts located either on the outer rim of a city or outside the official limits of a city (the term varies from country to country), or the outer elements of a conurbation. ... Rural area in Dalarna, Sweden Qichun, a rural town in Hubei province, China Rural areas are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities and towns. ... Look up realtor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Median home price

A Brownstone townhouse in Brooklyn Heights in New York City.

Willowood Townhomes in Salinas, California. With a median home price of roughly $620,000, Salinas is one of the most expensive cities in the United States.

A building under construction in downtown San Jose, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. The San Francisco Bay Area is the third most expensive real estate market in the US, after Santa Barbara, California and the Monterey Bay Area. All three markets are located in California, which, with a median home price of roughly $522,000, is by far the most expensive state in the United States.

Declining real estate prices are often identified as a driving force behind urban decay, as seen here in Harlem in New York City near 125th Street.

The Embarcadero in downtown San Francisco was once the site of a double-decker freeway with cardboard boxes housing the homeless underneath. In the early 1990s, however, the Embarcadero was the site of significant redevelopment efforts, sparked by both the destruction of the freeway by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and rising real estate prices. Today, the Embarcadero serves as one of the San Francisco's most prominent flagship boulevards.

The median home price is the threshold which divides the real estate market into two equal halves, in reference to pricing. One half of all homes in the market are priced above the median home price, while the other half are priced below it. For example, the median home price in the United States was $213,900 in the fourth quarter of 2005, meaning that half of all homes in the US were priced above $213,900, and half were priced below $213,900. In California, the median home price was $548,000. Image File history File linksMetadata Brownstown_Brooklyn_Heights. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Brownstown_Brooklyn_Heights. ... Expensive real estate: Brooklyn Heights in the snow taken from the Promenade, 2003 Brooklyn Heights is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that was originally Brooklyn Village, and, from 1834, the main area of Brooklyn City. ... Nickname: Big Apple, City that never Sleeps image_skyline = Top_of_Rock_Cropped. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1276x616, 457 KB) Summary I shot the picture myself and edited it using my own Photoshop Software. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1276x616, 457 KB) Summary I shot the picture myself and edited it using my own Photoshop Software. ... Nickname: Americas Salad Bowl Location Location of Salinas, California Government Country   State     County United States   California     Monterey Mayor Anna Caballero Geographical characteristics Area     City 49. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (960x1280, 301 KB) Summary I shot the picture myself. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (960x1280, 301 KB) Summary I shot the picture myself. ... Nickname: Capital of Silicon Valley Location of San Jose within Santa Clara County, California. ... A view of downtown San Jose, the self-proclaimed Capital of Silicon Valley. ... USGS Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. ... Santa Barbara is a city in California, United States. ... A view of Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, on the coast of California, south of San Francisco. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Image File history File linksMetadata DVC07473. ... Image File history File linksMetadata DVC07473. ... Harlem is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, long known as a major black cultural and business center. ... Nickname: Big Apple, City that never Sleeps image_skyline = Top_of_Rock_Cropped. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 307 KB) Summary I shot the picture myself. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 307 KB) Summary I shot the picture myself. ... The Ferry Building, on The Embarcadero at Market Street The Embarcadero is the eastern waterfront roadway of the Port of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, along San Francisco Bay. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The Loma Prieta earthquake occurred on October 17, 1989, in the greater San Francisco Bay Area in California at 5:04 p. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The median home price is one of the most common measurements used to compare real estate prices in different markets, areas, and periods. It is said to be less biased than the average since it is not as heavily influenced by the top 2% of homes. For example, the average home price in the US was $264,000 in October 2005, compared with a median home price of $213,900 for the same time period. In mathematics, an average or central tendency of a set (list) of data refers to a measure of the middle of the data set. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Mean (average) home price

The mean home price, or average home price is the sum of all home prices in a certain area, divided by the number of properties in the same area. For example, inside the Willowood Townhouse complex in Salinas, California, there were five townhouses for sale in March of 2006. The properties were priced as follows: one for $450,000, one for $459,000, two for $465,000, and one for $499,000. The sum of all of these properties is $2,338,000. This number is then divided by five, which equals $467,600. Thus, the mean home price for a townhouse inside Willowood was $467,600 in March 2006. Leinster House Henrietta Street Historically in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in some other countries, a townhouse (or a house in town) was a residence of a peer or member of the aristocracy in the capital or major city. ... Nickname: Americas Salad Bowl Location Location of Salinas, California Government Country   State     County United States   California     Monterey Mayor Anna Caballero Geographical characteristics Area     City 49. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Per square foot pricing

In per square foot pricing, the total price or rent of a unit is divided by the square footage of the unit.

Sales price per square foot

Sometimes real estate prices are measured by the price of each square foot. This allows for a better comparison between differently priced homes as well as homes of different sizes. In this pricing measurement method, the median or mean price of a home is divided by its square footage. For example, a 1,243 sq. ft. home was for sale for $465,000. To find the per square foot price, the price of $465,000 is divided by the square footage of 1,243. The result, $374.09, is the price per square foot for this particular home.

To effectively compare neighborhoods, the mean or median home price of a neighborhood is divided by the mean or median square footage. To refer to our example of Willowood Townhomes in Salinas, CA, the sold units in Willowood range from 1,243 sq. ft. to 1,621 sq. ft. The first four units are each 1,243 sq. ft.; the fifth unit is a little larger, measuring 1,621 sq. ft. The square footage of all units combined is 6,593 sq. ft. This number is divided by five, the number of homes for sale, and the result, 1,318, is the mean square footage. The mean price for the sold townhouses in Willowood of $467,600 is then divided by the mean square footage of 1,318; the result is a mean price of $354.78 per square foot. Salinas is the county seat of Monterey County, California. ...

Rent per square foot

Rent is also calculated by square foot. The rent per square foot is often used as an effective tool in comparing tenements and different markets, when units of different sizes. For example, in March 2006, a given 1,600-square-foot single-family home in Aptos, California charged a monthly rent of $1,800. In order to find the rent per square foot, the rent of $1,800 is divided by the square footage of 1,600, which gives a rent per square foot of $1.12. 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Aptos is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. ...

Another given 1,140-square-foot single-family home in Aptos, CA had a rent of $1,595 per month. Again, the rent of $1,595 is divided by the square footage of 1,140, which equals $1.40 per square foot. So, even though this home has a lower overall rent, its rent per square foot is actually higher than that of the first home. Aptos is a census-designated place located in Santa Cruz County, California. ...

External effects

Real estate prices can have a profound impact on an area. They can cause urban decay, over crowding as well as an urban renaissance. Urban decay is the popular term for both the physical and social degeneration of a cities and large towns. ...

Decline

In Harlem and many other inner city areas of large American cities, real estate prices dropped due to lower demand and the resulting surplus in supply. This trend was largely caused by suburban migration. Lower real estate prices had a negative effect on landlords, who in these declining neighborhoods became known as "slumlords." Slumlords are notorious for not caring for the properties and letting them slip into a state of severe disrepair. Often, though, landlords in blighted urban areas did not have funds to care for their worthless and unprofitable properties. In many American slums, the situation became so dire that landlords were known to set their properties on fire in order to commit insurance fraud and collect the insurance policy payouts. Harlem is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, long known as a major black cultural and business center. ... A landlord, or landlady, is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called the tenant. ... A slumlord is any individual or group of individuals who owns property and rents it at discounted rates. ... A slum is an overcrowded and squalid district of a city or town usually inhabited by the very poor. ...

Overcrowding

In many areas of California, rising real estate prices have had an adverse effect as well. In northern Monterey County, for example, the median home price has risen to approximately $712,000, while the median household income has remained at roughly $48,000. This extreme real estate price hike has excluded the vast majority of potential home buyers from the market. It is now estimated that an income of over $120,000 is needed to live the "average middle-class lifestyle" in Monterey County. In Soledad, California, according to the 2000 US Census, one out of every three housing units is overcrowded. This article is becoming very long. ... The Monterey Peninsula in central California is comprised of the cities of Monterey, Carmel, Pacific Grove, and the private community of Pebble Beach. ... Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. ... Soledad is a town in Monterey County, California, United States. ...

Urban Renaissance

In some areas, rising home prices have caused an urban renaissance. Rising home prices can transform unprofitable and decaying properties into potential gold mines. In many areas, landlords renovated their now-profitable properties, while other properties were bought by developers, who renovated them, seeing the neighborhoods' potential. Many downtown areas of large American cities have enjoyed a significant reawakening of interest in inner-city properties, which has rejuvenated these once blighted areas. Thanks in part to rising real estate prices, many inner cities have experienced a true urban renaissance. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Central business district. ...

See also

• Housing bubble
• List of real estate topics
• National Association of Realtors
• Real estate appraisal
• Real estate economics
• Real property

Home $weet Home: cover of the 13 June 2005 issue of Time Magazine. ... This aims to be a complete list of the articles on real estate. ... Look up realtor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A real estate appraisal is a service performed, by an appraiser, that develops an opinion of value based upon the highest and best use of real property. ... Real estate economics is the application of economic techniques to real estate markets. ... Real property is a legal term encompassing real estate and ownership interests in real estate (immovable property). ...

References

• National Multiple Listing Service
• Monterey County Realtors Association