Metrics and Formulas

Number of Sales All available closed sales at time of report preparation to occur in a specific market during the reporting period. This figure is not updated in subsequent quarters.

Number of New Leases (formerly Number of New Rentals) All available closed rentals at the time of report preparation to occur in a specific market during the reporting period. It does not include lease renewals. The word “new” is not an identifier for “new development,” “new conversion” or “new construction.” This figure is not updated in subsequent quarters.

Average Price Per Square Foot The sum of all apartment sales prices in a specific reporting period and market divided by the total square footage of all sales in that same period and market.

Average Rental Price Per Square Foot The sum of all apartment rental prices in a specific reporting period and market divided by the total square footage of all rentals in that same period and market.

Average Sales Price The sum of all apartment sales prices in a specific reporting period and market divided by the number of sales in that same market and reporting period.

Average Rental Price The sum of all apartment sales prices in a specific reporting period and market divided by the number of sales in that same market and reporting period.

Median Sales Price This is the number that is the middle point of all  sales prices in a data set. If the data set has an even number of data points, the average of the two middle numbers of the set is the median sales price.

Median Rental Price This is the number that is the middle point of all  rental prices in a data set. If the data set has an even number of data points, the average of the two middle numbers of the set is the median rental price.

Listing Inventory Inventory is collect through local MLS services where available and supplemented when need through aggregators such as Streeteasy, Realtor.com,Zillow and Trulia. Listing inventory presented is comprised of active supply, not shadow supply.  Active inventory are listings that are currently available for sale.  Shadow inventory our use refers to new development product that sits behind active inventory but is not formally offered for sale yet.

Quintiles All sales in the quarter are sorted by price. The total number of sales are then divided into five equal groups. The median sales price of each fifth, or quintile results.

Days on Market The average number of days from the last change in list price to the contract date. The original list date was used with the reports for Long Island Sales and Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens Rentals due to availability and quality of data.  But conceptually and for the balance of our reports, the reliance of the last list price and date measures the moment when that listing entered the market in a competitive basis.  The original list price is often a random number that the seller wants or may be inconsistent with current market conditions.

Listing Discount The average percentage difference between the last list price and the contract price. The original list price was used with the reports for Long Island Sales and Manhattan, Brooklyn & Queens Rentals due to availability and quality of data. But conceptually and for the balance of our reports, the reliance of the last list price and date measures the moment when that listing entered the market in a competitive basis.  The original list price is often a random number that the seller wants or may be inconsistent with current market conditions.  A $1,000,000 last list price with a $950,000 indicates a 5% listing discount: ($1,000,000 – $950,000) / $1,000,000 = 5%.

Monthly Absorption Rate The number of months it would take for all active inventory to be sold at the current pace of sales. It is calculated by taking the listing inventory and deducting the monthly number of sales. An increase in the number of months to absorb current housing stock indicates a weakening market. The number of sales for the quarter is divided by three to convert to a monthly average. For example, a 3,000 quarterly number of sales and a listing inventory of 6,000 would yield a 6 month absorption rate: (6,000) – (3,000/3) = 6 months.

Closed Sales Data collected and presented on this site and in our market reports are primarily closed sales. We use  only closed sales, whether or not they have been recorded and  available in public record.

Contract Sales, Pending Sales “Under contract” Our report on Manhattan Sales used to include pending sales in an supplemental analysis.  The use of contract sales is problematic given the lack of price information to develop trends and the false assumption that all sales under contract eventually close.  We removed this analysis for our reports in late 2015.