The data on value (also referred to as "price asked" for vacant units) were obtained from Housing Question 19 in the 2006 American Community Survey. The question was asked at housing units that were owned, being bought, vacant for sale, or sold not occupied at the time of the survey. Value is the respondent's estimate of how much the property (house and lot, mobile home and lot, or condominium unit) would sell for if it were for sale. If the house or mobile home was owned or being bought, but the land on which it sits was not, the respondent was asked to estimate the combined value of the house or mobile home and the land. For vacant units, value was the price asked for the property. Value was tabulated separately for all owner-occupied and vacant-for-sale housing units, as well as owner-occupied and vacant-for-sale mobile homes.
Adjusting Value for Inflation
Since value collected before 2006 is the only dollar amount captured on the questionnaire in specified intervals, the category boundaries for previous years are not adjusted for inflation. In the comparison profiles, however, the median value is adjusted for inflation by multiplying a factor equal to the average annual CPI-U-RS factor for the current year, divided by the average annual CPI-U-RS factor for the earlier/earliest year.
Median and Quartile Value
The median divides the value distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases falling below the median value of the property (house and lot, mobile home and lot, or condominium unit) and one-half above the median. Quartiles divide the value distribution into four equal parts. Median and quartile value are computed on the basis of a standard distribution. (See the "Standard Distributions" section under "Derived Measures.") Median and quartile value calculations are rounded to the nearest hundred dollars. Upper and lower quartiles can be used to note large value differences among various geographic areas. (For more information on medians and quartiles, see "Derived Measures.")
To calculate aggregate value, the amount assigned for the category "Less than $10,000" is $9,000. The amount assigned to the category $1,000,000 or more" is $1,250,000. Aggregate value is rounded to the nearest hundred dollars. (For more information on aggregates, see " Derived Measures .")
The 1996-1998 American Community Survey question provided a space for the respondent to enter a dollar amount. Since 1999, the American Community Survey question provided 19 pre-coded response categories from "Less than $10,000" to "$250,000 or more - Specify" . Starting in 2004, value was shown for all owner - occupied housing units. In previous years (1996-2003), it was shown only for specified owner-occupied housing units.
