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QUESTION:

Are the green “Wealth Phase” sections of State & Metro charts also available for Micro Markets?

ANSWER:

1. Wealth Phase charts do not apply at the zip code (or any micro market) level because a zip code is NOT a market unto itself, it is a sub-market that tends to follow its parent metro market. (ie – ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’.)
2. Micro markets often have too few house sale transactions to obtain a statistically valid sample size and therefore can be very volatile with larger margins of error. In our Legacy charting system, micro markets get one major update early in the year, then receive minor updates during the year. (We’re developing an advanced micro market update system that could be released by year end.)
3. Remember, you’re looking at Inflation Adjusted charts and there was a big inflation spike in 2022/23.
4. There is a longer time delay in reporting micro market stats (compared to the parent Metro market) because it takes longer to obtain an adequate sample size for most small micro markets.
5. Note that some micro markets have such small populations (and therefore few houses on the market) that it can take months to compile enough sale transactions for a valid sample size. Given the small number of home sales you should expect a larger margin of error and generally less reliable statistics when compared to a larger market with sufficient data points. (That’s why we prefer to rely primarily on the Metro level data, and only then drill down into micro markets.)

Because of these small sample sizes and therefore larger margins of error for micro markets, we like to look at the RELATIVE PERFORMANCE (ie – Ranking) of micro markets compared to other nearby micro markets for the indicators most relevant to your investing goals and strategy.

Use these micro market tools to see how your zip codes (for example – 14619 & 19127) RANK against nearby and national markets.

1. Micro Market Maps
   https://www.housingalerts.com/members/maps/micro-market-maps/
• View the indicators most important to your investment goals, for example – Cash Flow, Hot Market, etc.

2. Micro Market Rankings
   https://www.housingalerts.com/members/market-finder/micro-market-rankings/

3. MLS Analyst Zip Code Maps
   https://www.housingalerts.com/members/maps/mls-zip-code-maps/

4. MLS Market Tracker
   https://www.housingalerts.com/members/market-finder/mls-tracker/

5. MLS Per 10K Population Stats
   https://www.housingalerts.com/members/market-finder/mls-per-capita/