Median Price Comparison - Australian Property Monitors Vs. REIV

There seems to be quite a large disparity between both sources for example.

i'm concentrating on melbourne here: all median prices, all houses

samples:

first number REIV,
(second in brackets APM)
third is % difference based on APM value

Altona 505K (380K) 45%
Hawthorn 1220K (777K) 57%
Burwood 710K (526K) 35%
Camberwell 1152K (900K) 28%
Prahran 843K (676K) 25%
Sunshine 353K (275K) 28%
Werribee 225K (216K) 4%
Melton 200K (184K) 8.6%
Surrey Hills 1050K (794K) 32%
Pakenham 270K (249K) 8.4%

sources

REIV: Realestate view http://www.realestateview.com.au/ - this is dec07 median values
APM: Feb API Mag - these are 12 months to oct 07 values,

now i know there are 2 months difference in the stats but surely the differences cannot be that big?

obviously there are some differences in methods/assumptions behind them but i'm not sure what they are, suffice to say there are some very big differences in them. the much larger differences are found in the inner suburbs compared to the outer, for example werribee only has 4% difference?

or could we conclude that the REIV is complicit in its propaganda and artifically creating higher medians.

any ideas?
 
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It's ridiculous, isn't it.

After look at this discrepancy just last week, I decided to ignore all this data in the future as with such big differences it is meaningless to me.

In future I will only value my portfolio by making sure I know what my specific individual properties are worth based on comparable sales.
 
Think about who the two bodies represent;

REIV: represents REAL ESTATE AGENTS. Their reason for being is to sell real estate and make money from it. It is not in their best interests to portray real estate in a bad light. They need people to want to sell, and buy, so they will always talk it up.

AUSTRALIAN PROPERTY MONITORS: their reason for being is to produce stats that are used by investors and anyone involved in real estate transactions information. If they are constantly inaccurate; their product is no good and no-one will buy it.

The other problem is the way they collate all the data.

For example; the REIV have an auction and the property is sold on the day of the auction. If it sells days before or after the auction, it is a private treaty sale. It was not sold at the auction. But the REIV will always include the sale of a property that is listed for an auction as a successful auction result. This is misleading and makes auctions look more successful than they might be.

Why do they do it? Becuase an auction gets THEM a sale by a certain date usually, regardless of the outcome for the Vendor, and it spins more cash through over-inflated advert campaigns and auction fees.

I think that all these crowds are pretty much a rough guide anyway, and then do your own research to find out the real facts. Even Residex is not all that accurate in my opinion.
 
In my opinion, from following the market closely in a number of those suburbs, REIV is much closer to the truth than APM. I don't believe that 50% of houses in Hawthorn sell for less than $777k; for that price you might get an unrenovated/attached/main road/land of 300m2 house.
 
I dont know about the other suburbs but Altona would be very close to a median of 505k, 6 months ago it would have been 380k.

Im also expecting another 20% growth this year to add to the 38% last year this suburb has been undervalued for a long time.
 
It's ridiculous, isn't it.

After look at this discrepancy just last week, I decided to ignore all this data in the future as with such big differences it is meaningless to me.

I pretty much agree. To give it any meaningful interpretation you already have to know the market. But if you know the market you don't need the data in the first place. The posts on Sommersoft are much better where they compare like with like.
 
In my opinion, from following the market closely in a number of those suburbs, REIV is much closer to the truth than APM. I don't believe that 50% of houses in Hawthorn sell for less than $777k; for that price you might get an unrenovated/attached/main road/land of 300m2 house.

Twitch i would agree on the comment about hawthorn, but why are they so close on outer values and so way off on inner values?

my own gut feeling is reality is closer to REIV data than APM
 
sources

REIV: Realestate view http://www.realestateview.com.au/ - this is dec07 median values
APM: Feb API Mag - these are 12 months to oct 07 values,

now i know there are 2 months difference in the stats but surely the differences cannot be that big?

?

There was a large upswing in prices in the outer areas of Melbourne which occured late last year. (From September until December) (Altona and surrounding areas, for example). This may not have been captured in the APM data as it only included the data up until October. It seems that the REIV data is more recent, and has therefore captured this movement.

The last few months of last year did in fact make a substantial difference to the annual rise in prices for some suburbs. (Especially the middle to outer areas). Much of the significant movement in prices in the inner areas occured much earlier in the year from March onwards.
 
Ive noticed the same differences but in reverse for Perth prices... APM skyhigh & REIWA a more realistic value.

I questioned it and was the given the explaination that REIWA uses settlement sales prices and APM uses a unrealistic formula that incorporates selling time on the market also.

REIA figures is what I take notice of, all the others are smoke & mirrors as far as Im concerned!
 
Victorian Valuer-General Property Values..

Soren, you may find this of interest:

http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/land/lcnl...01DAC6F-4FF5582EDD1DD6B9CA256E5F0014C0EE?open

In particular; (excerpt):

"I require median prices over the last 10 years. Is this information available?

Yes, this information is available by the purchase of the publication Property Sales Statistics - A Guide to Property Values in Victoria. For a copy of the latest edition on-line or email [email protected] or phone (03) 8636 2456.

Where can I research trends, property prices and forecasts of residential, commercial, industrial and rural property sales statistics?

Through Property Information and Sales (PRISM) for Subscribers.

Where can I purchase the publication “A Guide to Property Values”?

You can order your copy on-line or email [email protected] or phone (03) 8636 2456.

Can I access information on the Internet about the Annual Property Sales Statistics Publication and the histograms report?

Yes, If you are a registered Landata subscriber or email [email protected] ."


If you wish, I am able to mail you the 10 year results (for Victoria-including Melbourne suburbs)..1994-2005 statistics. You may wish to then buy the latest update of Guide to Property Values, and you will then have quite a comprehensive and (relatively respected), stash of data.

I would gladly put up the data I have, on the forum, but it would require a considerable data entry timeframe-and it's possible I would go nuts doing so.

My technical capabilities are a little challenged but I am more than happy to snail mail an interesting few (big) pages of the statistics and article and comments upon interpreting the data and impression of the trends.

Just PM me if you want them mailed.
 
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