Methodology & sourcing

What a dispatch is

Each dispatch summarizes the strongest measured moves in a market for the period — a headline figure, supporting reads, and a citation line. Every number is computed directly from the underlying data; we publish a dispatch only when the data genuinely moves.

Geographic level

Dispatches are currently metro- and city-level. ZIP-level coverage is rolling out market by market and is labeled explicitly where available — a dispatch never implies a precision it does not carry.

Update cadence

Local market figures update on a monthly grain; macro context (mortgage rates and similar) updates weekly. Figures reflect the latest available data at publish time and are snapshotted — an archived dispatch shows the numbers that shipped that period.

Sources & attribution

Underlying data is drawn from public sources, including Realtor.com (via FRED) · Redfin Data Center · FHFA HPI · Zillow Research. We attribute each source per its terms. Listing-side reads — list prices, active and new inventory, and price reductions — derive from Realtor.com, accessed via the Federal Reserve Economic Data service (FRED); sale-price, days-to-sell, and sold-inventory reads derive from Redfin Data Center; the home-price index reads from the FHFA House Price Index; rent reads from Zillow Research.

Limitations

Public data carries reporting lags and coverage gaps; small markets and thin periods may show no dispatch rather than a low-confidence one. We do not characterize neighborhoods or demographics — only transactional market mechanics (prices, inventory, days on market, rents).