Price is the number everyone quotes and the number most often misread. Median sold price describes the middle of what sold in a period, so it moves when the mix of homes selling changes, even if no individual home changed value. Repeat sales indexes follow the same homes over time, which removes the mix problem but reports later and smooths over local detail.
Neither measure is wrong. They answer different questions. The reports collected here work through what each measure covers, which window it uses, and how to tell whether a headline is describing a change in value or a change in what happened to sell.
Every figure on this topic is reported with its source and its measurement window. See how we measure and our editorial standards.
REcolorado's median describes the middle of June's Denver Metro closings and Case-Shiller tracks repeat sales of qualifying existing single-family homes through May, so both readings can be accurate at once.
June closed-price measures remained broadly stable while the newer pending-sales reading suggests softer buyer commitment, and that is not a forecast of falling prices.
Presentation can help buyers understand a home's value, but it cannot permanently compensate for a price disconnected from the alternatives.
Guides that explain it
Neighborhoods where it matters most