Terminology

The terms listed below are in alphabetical order.  If you do not see a term or need additional help, please contact ARMLS at information@armls.com or 1-480-303-7020.

Active - Properties in Active status are available for sale and have no ratified contracts pending. The count represents Active Listings at the end of the time period.   The Under Contract - Backups (UCB) listings, formerly Active With Contingency (AWC) listings, are also included in the Active Inventory counts.

All - The term All is used to count listings, pendings and contingents at the time the data was pulled from the MLS.  It does not refer to a specific date range. 

Active Inventory - Active Inventory includes those properties that were active at the end of the time period.

All Other - Includes properties that are not Single Family Detached or Manufactured. The All Other group includes homes that have a dwelling type of Patio Home, Townhouse, Apartment Style/Flat, Gemini/Twin Home.

All Pendings - This represents the number of listings that had a status of Pending at the end of the time period, regardless of when the listings were contracted. 

Average - Average is the mean value of the dataset.  The Average Sales Price is the sum of the total sales dollar volume divided by the total number of units sold.  The Median Sales Price is the Sales Price at which half of all sales are above and half are the sales are below.  Sometimes the Median Sales Price is a better indication of the market than the Average Sales Price, especially when a few sales may distort the Average Sales Price.  Example:  Ten sales are in an area. One was for $1,000,000 and nine were for $250,000.  The Average Sales Price would be $325,000 and the Median Sales Price would be $250,000.  

Average Sold Price to Original List Price Ratio - This represents the average of the ratios for the gross sales price to the original list price for individual listings.  Example scenario to help illustrate:

Listing A: List Price = 100,000; Sold Price = 90,000; Ratio = 90%
Listing B: List Price = 200,000; Sold Price = 150,000; Ratio = 75%
Listing C: List Price = 1,000,000; Sold Price = 700,000; Ratio = 70%

In this scenario, the SP to OLP Ratio is ((90+75+70)/3) = 78.3%.  To further clarify, we do not take the aggregate list price and divide by the aggregate OLP.

AWC - AWC stands for Active with Contingency.  This status was changed on 12/5/12 to UCB.  See UCB below.

Bank-Mediated - The Bank-Mediated category includes all properties indicated as Lender-owned/REO, Short Sale Approval Required, Previously Approved Short Sale, Lender Aproved Short Sale or HUD Owned Property in the MLS database.

Contingent - Properties in the Contingent category are listings that are Active with an UCB status.  The contract that has been ratified but contains contingency clauses that have not been satisfied. 

Contract - Properties in Pending and Contingent (UCB) status have a ratified contract and are pending settlement.

Days on Market (DOM) - Days on Market is a calculation based upon the number of days a property is for sale.  It is calculated based upon the property and accumulates between listings.  Days on Market is calculated from the date when a property first comes on the market (list date) to the time it is taken off the market due to a sale (contract date) or off market condition (off market date).  If a property changes between Active and other statuses during the life of the listing(s), the cumulative on market time is tracked.

Financing - On the Detailed Report, this section counts the number of sold listings by the type of new financing obtained when the listing sold.  Cash are those with sold terms of Cash or Cash to Loan.   Conventional are those with sold terms of Conventional and Wrap.  FHA are those with sold terms of FHA or FMHA.  Owner are those with sold terms of Carryback.  VA are those with sold terms of VA.  Other are those with sold terms of Bond/IDA, Exchange, Rent/Lease and SBA.

Home Type - This category represents the Dwelling Type in the MLS system.  See Single Family Detached, All Other and Manufactured for more information. 

Inventory - Inventory indicates the number of homes for sale with Active status.

Lender Owned/REO- Lender Owned are real estate owned (REO) properties. The property is in the possession of a lender as a result of foreclosure or forfeiture.   While some information is available in the MLS regarding foreclosures, this information is primarily available from lending institutions.  Lender Owned/REO includes the Special Conditions of Lender Owned/REO Property and HUD Owned Property.

List Price - List price is the current price or last price a property was offered at.

Living Area Sqft - Living Area Square Feet is the interior finished floor area (square footage) of the property.

Manufactured - Includes the dwelling types of Manufactured/Mobile and Modular/Pre-fab.

Median - Median is the middle value of the dataset.  The Average Sales Price is the sum of the total sales dollar volume divided by the total number of units sold.  The Median Sales Price is the Sales Price at which half of all sales are above and half are the sales are below.  Sometimes the Median Sales Price is a better indication of the market than the Average Sales Price, especially when a few sales may distort the Average Sales Price.  Example:  Ten sales are in an area. One was for $1,000,000 and nine were for $250,000.  The Average Sales Price would be $325,000 and the Median Sales Price would be $250,000.  

MoM - Month-Over-Month is the percent change for a given statistic from the preceding month.

New - The term New is used with other terms to count listing within a time period, such as a month.  New Listings, for instance, indicates listings that came on the market between the 1st and the 31st of a particular month.  In contrast, the term All refers to the number of listings at a moment in time.

New Contracts- New Contracts is a count of listings that changed to either UCB or Pending status during the month (New Contracts=New Pendings + New UCB's).

New Listings - New listings represents the number of new properties placed for sale during the time period.

New Pendings - New Pendings is a count of listings that changed to Pending status during the time period. This feature, due to lack of historical pending data, will not be available until 2013.

New UCB - New UCB (Under Contract - Backups) is a count of listings that changed to UCB, regardless of whether or not the listing status changed again during the time period.  The status change to UCB must be requested by the Seller in writing.

Original List Price (OLP) - Original list price is the initial price the listing was put on the market at.  OLP is used in the ratios such as OLP to Sales Price Ratio.

Ratio of Average Sold Price to Average List Price - This is the ratio of the aggregated average gross sold price to the aggregated average original list price of the listings.  (See also - Average Sold Price to List Price Ratio.)

Short Sale - Short Sale represents a property where the sale price of the property falls short of the balance owed on the property's loan.  In some jurisdictions, this piece of information is not required to be disclosed.  Short Sale includes the Special Conditions of Short Sale Approval Required, Previously Approved Short Sale and Lender Approved Short Sale.

Single Family Detached or SF Detached - Detached properties where there is no wall shared partially or entirely with another property.  The Single Family Detached group includes homes that have a Dwelling Type of Single Family Detached.

Solds - Solds represents the number of units sold for the time period indicated.

Sales Price - Sales price is the gross sales price.  It is the price the seller accepted from the buyer in the contract.  It excludes seller concessions.  This is also called the Gross Sales Price.

UCB - UCB (formerly AWC) stands for Under Contract - Backups.   These are listings that are under contract where the Seller has requested in writing that the property remain Active and taking backups.

YoY - Year-Over-Year is the percent change for a given statistic from the same month in the prior year.