Here in the Jacksonville, Florida area, there is an area of town known as San Jose. The main road through this area is San Jose Boulevard. Many of the side streets on the west side of San Jose Boulevard lead to the river. Many of the homes that line these side streets are modestly priced homes. However, at the end of the street you typically have two or three larger homes built on the river with river access and docks.

For example, the homes that line the side streets may range from $200,000 - $300,000 and there could be as many as 20 homes in this price range. Then the two homes at the end of the street could be priced at over $2 million. Suppose you were looking for a home in the $200,000 range. If you included the prices of the two homes on the river, you would mislead yourself and think that San Jose area is one that was not affordable, when in fact it is affordable.

Suppose you were selling your house. Would you quote mean or median prices for the area to prospective buyers?

Suppose you were buying another house. Would you be more interested in the mean or median prices in the area?