Lies, Damn Lies And Statistics

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Where I grew up, the old timers had an expression for it: ‘Figures don’t lie, but liars can figure.’ Looking back over the posts on this blog, I’m starting to see a bewildering assortment of statistics, often contradictory. LA asking prices are slipping, but median sales prices are rising? And the Case-Shiller index, whatever that is, says LA prices are falling? So what is really going on? The goal of this blog is to answer that question, with your help. And there won’t be a single answer for all of Los Angeles -- the LA real estate market is made up of hundreds of smaller local markets -- neighborhoods, if you will. In some, listings are scarce and prices are rising; in others, prices are sinking and foreclosed houses are popping up like crabgrass. So what about the stats? I’m going to err on the side of giving you too much information; I’ll try to hold back, however, on the standard spin from industry insiders. I hope you will provide the analysis, interpretation, and, if you care to, the spin. That said, the comment bar is open.