Housing is typically the largest component of expenditures.
The Estimated Home Value is the estimated price of a home, with square footage at default or as specified by the user. ERI research provides default values for estimated home size for an earnings level if the user does not customize the square footage. This value is used to calculate annual mortgage payments, interest deductions, etc. (after initial down payment). See Housing Assumptions for an explanation of House Payment Assumptions.
Homes located geographically close to each other can vary greatly. ERI collects both aggregate city-level and neighborhood-level data for areas within cities that are more desirable to most management/professional lifestyles. Typically, an ERI neighborhood in a city will have a higher Estimated Home Value than the entire city. The Estimated Home Value for the entire city will include data from areas within the city not specifically singled out as a neighborhood of that city.
ERI researchers are pleased to research and include in the database new locations or neighborhoods that are of particular interest to subscribers. Please call Subscriber Services at 800-627-3697 to discuss any location requests.
It is challenging to standardize and consistently compare different housing stocks among cities of different sizes and geographic locations. The process becomes even more complex with rural locations added to the comparisons.
ERI collects average and median price per square foot sold data on two home sizes (2,200 and 1,240 square ft) on standard size lots with amenities considered common in better quality homes. Estimated Home Values for other size homes are calculated by incorporating the survey data into econometric forecasting models. Both new and existing homes sold are considered. Foreclosure and short sale data is factored into Estimated Home Value.
The estimated price data for homes reflects pricing data only for homes that would be desirable to management/professional level individuals and families. We exclude data from areas within a location that would be unsuitable for the typical management/professional level family. ERI Estimated Home Value can differ from commonly reported prices due to the filtering techniques used to exclude certain homes that fall below our quality standards or are in areas within a location commonly believed to be less desirable to the assumed lifestyle.
ERI analyzes raw home price data for the highly specific type of housing stock described above through much less granular sources such as the National Association of Realtor’s price data, the National Association of Home Builders Home Market Index report, the FISERV S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index, the Federal Home Loan Financing Agency, HUD and BLS Home Price Index.
ERI constantly researches and refines estimated home pricing data as local housing markets are in flux. We attempt to collect at least 30 data points per home size, per location, for every data update (released twice each quarter); however, some of the of the less heavily populated locations in our database have fewer than 30 sales per survey period that meet our data specification. In those cases, we use small-area estimating price models to supplement the raw data.
To View Estimated Home Value
In Housing Assumptions: see the House Price fields for Base City and Destination City.
In the Two City Comparison table: see the Estimated Home Value fields for Base City and Destination City in the main table.
When the Estimated Home Value geographic analysis is higher than the city level (e.g., county, state, or country level), the value is calculated as an average.
See Two City Comparison - Background for more information.