Area 3 takes in 48906 - If Trulia has anything higher, they are in error. Sale prices are down in that area.
LANSING - 03 NE
Total Active Residential Listings 207 286 -28%
Average List Price $78,976 $81,818 -3%
# Sales 109 89 22%
Average Sold Price $55,840 $58,843 -5%
Median Sold Price $30,000 $42,000 -29%
Average Market Time 73 80 Less 7 Days

I suspect that either an error occurred in the calculation, or an outlier sale skewed the numbers. Does the definition of "homes" include land and/or multi-unit buildings? If so, the sale of such a property at a high amount would account for the statistical anomaly.

Mike,
The source you quoted does not provide any zip codes.

Trulia Says:

The median sales price for homes in ZIP code 48906 for Jul 09 to Sep 09 was $137,603. This represents an increase of 97.9%, or $68,076, compared to the prior quarter and an increase of 70.1% compared to the prior year.

http://www.trulia.com/real_estate/48906-Lansing/market-trend…

Either you are incorrect in your assumption Lansing area 3 in your source refers to zip code 48906 or one of the two sources is wrong.

The zip code you are referring to is down 33% in median price over last year. Here is a complete report. You will find what you are looking for in Lansing area 3. This is the 3rd Quarter 2009 Lansing area Let me know if you have any questions. Mike Report.

No, not sales price, home SALES, period. People nowadays are arguably getting more house for their money and the fact that people are able to purchase homes is the great thing I was talking about.

Patrick I know the difference median and average. I think I learned that in middle school.
On the other hand this zip code experienced both an increase in sales and increase in median housing sales price. That sounds more like data you would see during a pre real estate bust period. Looking at data during the past 10 years on Trulia this zip code didn’t experience anything close to this kind of growth. Not even during the boom times. I almost think it is some kind of error.

Elizabeth why exactly is dramatic increase in home sales price a good thing for home buyers?

The median price is very different from an average sales price. The median price is a price mid point between the highest sale price and the lowest sale price. There are as many houses sold above and below the median price. An average sales price is the total of all sold houses divided by the number of houses sold. A median price can fluctuate up or down quite a bit depending on the high and low sales. Last years high sale may have been lower than this years high sale. That could raise the median price.