Why a Portland Asking-Price Median Needs a Property-Type Check

The October 6 supplied sample has a $355,000 median asking price across 1,994 priced records. Within it, the median is $289,000 for 903 priced condo records, $399,900 for 241 attached records and $435,500 for 639 detached records. The overall figure combines different property forms, so it is a poor starting point for valuing one particular home.

These figures describe selected active-listing records supplied for analysis. Original search filters, complete result count and cutoff are unknown. They are asking-price observations, not closed-sale medians for Portland or appraisals of individual properties.

Understand what the pooled median includes

A median is the middle price after the numeric values are sorted. It is not the average of the property-type medians. The sample includes condos, detached and attached homes, in-park manufactured housing, floating homes and smaller classifications. Their relative representation affects the meaning of the pooled figure.

There are 906 condo records and 642 detached records in the file, but three records in each group say AUCTION. That is why their price denominators are 903 and 639. Retaining that distinction prevents a classification count from being mistaken for the number of usable price observations.

For a seller, choose comparators before choosing a number

A detached-home seller should not use $355,000 as a suggested list price simply because it is the sample median. The $435,500 detached median is more specific to property form, but it still does not value that seller's home. The file lacks size, condition, exact address and transaction detail needed to judge comparability.

Start a pricing review with the exact property: location, ownership form, physical characteristics, condition, improvements and relevant documents. Then distinguish current competing listings from completed comparable sales. Asking prices show what competing sellers request; completed sales supply a different kind of evidence.

Use the home-value review to assemble that property-specific evidence. For a planned sale, the selling process connects the review to preparation, timing and a listing strategy rather than copying a broad median into a price recommendation.

For a buyer, price groups are different comparison sets

The condo and detached medians cannot be treated as the price difference for otherwise identical homes. These are unmatched groups, and the export cannot control for size, condition, location or ownership responsibilities. The difference does not establish a condo discount or a detached-home premium.

A buyer can use the property-type split to organize current shortlists. Compare condo candidates with the unit and association documents in view. Compare detached candidates with their own property and condition evidence. Keep total ownership costs visible alongside asking prices; this dataset contains no monthly cost figures.

Why some medians are omitted

The report publishes subgroup medians only when at least 25 numeric prices are available. RES-MFG has 19 priced records and PLNCOMM has one, so their medians are suppressed while their counts remain visible. This is a presentation threshold to avoid emphasizing thin groups, not proof that a larger group represents the whole market.

No result here measures appreciation, demand or a change since September. The source is one selected snapshot whose highest numeric asking price is $500,000. Its selection settings are unknown, so the sample median cannot be promoted into an unrestricted Portland market statistic.

Ask for the evidence behind a pricing conversation

Bring the property address and the comparison question to Own It Northwest. Ask which current listings and completed sales are relevant, why they belong in the comparison set, and what differences need adjustment. The sample's strongest lesson is to define the group before using its headline price.

Source and supporting research

Own It Northwest analysis of the MLS export supplied October 6, 2026. Read the supporting report, aggregate CSV, and methodology and source register. Raw records remain private.