February 2022: The average sales price for single family homes in January was $1,414,982. One year ago, in January 2021, it was $1,237,137. The average price first exceeded $1.3M in April 2021, when it was $1,389,693.
In Santa Cruz County, we have a few very expensive homes, such as those fronting Monterey Bay. Because of that, the average price tends to be a higher number than the median price.
BACKGROUND: People who keep statistics argue whether the median price or the average price is a better indicator. The average price is calculated by totaling the sales prices and dividing by the number of sales. The median price is that price where an equal number of sales occurred at a higher price and a lower price than the median.