Coverage & caveats · Home sales and listings
Mix shift
A change in what kind of home sold, which moves medians without any home changing price.
Mix shift is a change in the composition of transactions — by size, price tier, neighbourhood or property type. Because a median describes the homes that sold, any such change moves it independently of what happened to values.
It is behind most surprising local price headlines. A quarter in which a new luxury development closes en bloc lifts a county's median with no change in existing home values; a credit tightening that removes first-time buyers raises the median by removing the bottom of the market. Price per square foot partially controls for it; a repeat-sales index controls for it properly.
Also known as: composition effect, sales mix.
See mix shift in the data
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Mix shift — FAQ
What is mix shift in housing market data?+
A change in what kind of home sold, which moves medians without any home changing price. Mix shift is a change in the composition of transactions — by size, price tier, neighbourhood or property type. Because a median describes the homes that sold, any such change moves it independently of what happened to values.
Why does mix shift matter?+
It is behind most surprising local price headlines. A quarter in which a new luxury development closes en bloc lifts a county's median with no change in existing home values; a credit tightening that removes first-time buyers raises the median by removing the bottom of the market. Price per square foot partially controls for it; a repeat-sales index controls for it properly.
Where does this housing market data come from?+
Sales, listing and inventory figures come from Redfin's public housing-market dataset, which is compiled from multiple listing services. Coverage is limited to the metros and counties Redfin reports. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with Redfin.