Does the Below median price change?

[Account Closed]

Example: in arizona houses below median are 170,000 does it change for every city? Or it stays the same for all cities like phoenix, etc

Oh also when you want to know how many people live in areas so you can buy, do i look at how many people live in AZ or the city ?

For example: im looking for an area with over 100,000 people. Do i search how many people are there in the city or state?

[Patrick Allen]

Median Home Price changes month-to-month in every city: if 99 homes in Tucson sell this month, the Median Home Price would be the 50th most expensive home sold. 49 homes sold in April were more expensive, 49 were less expensive. Sorted numerically: the one right, smack in the middle.

When you say you're targeting below median homes do you mean you are buying homes that are at this median income figure and lower? If so, the number will change slightly each month but follow predictable patterns. The Arizona Association of Realtors tracks these changes; you can see Tucson stats here and Phoenix stats here. 

I say this as a professional who does it every day: the month-to-month changes don't mean anything; just something for us to argue about amongst ourselves in our monthly meetings. 

What is important: which direction are the numbers trending? Are they trending in that direction more intensely or less intensely than previous years (or market cycles)? What explanations might exist for those trends, and are they expected to continue or reverse?

Unless you are very comfortable with the major economic drivers and local/regional political climate (tax law, tenant rights...) of the market you're considering putting money into, it's always best to start by finding someone, as they say, with "boots on the ground" who really understands where things are and why. Don't ask the barber whether you need a haircut, necessarily, but there are no shortage of pros all over the country represented here who would be happy to walk you through "local Economics 101" for their metro of expertise.

Many find it easiest to start where they live, but if you want to invest out of state: use census data to narrow down your top 3-5 potential markets and start finding people in those cities who understand what you're about.