A New Player

Not your Daddy’s RE market any more!

For decades, Wall Street investors have been awash in data that helps them make prudent decisions in a volatile market. Real estate investors got a smile and a handshake. Finally, in the last couple of years, we get the data we need. A trickle at first; and we are at the brink of an avalanche now.

Sites like Zillow, Trulia, Movoto, Redfin and even individual agents’ sites give us raw facts, refined data, sophisticated projections and even opinions about almost everything on the market. While some emphasize individual listings, others focus on local trends, such as Altos Research.

A relative newcomer, Altos Research is bringing fresh analysis to local communities. Altos has been in the works since at least 2005 and only recently available to a wide variety of users. Some information is free and some will cost. Altos specializes in what they call a Real-time Market Profile™ on local cities. They seem to have algorithms that crunch raw data from a variety of sources and make intelligible results available quickly to subscribers. Here’s a sample report:

Altos promises that commentary like the above right will aid in the usefulness of the information they provide. In addition to detailed data and choppy charts, they offer trend indicators and smoothed charts that more clearly show trend behavior.

Here we follow with charts for local San Diego East County communities provided by Altos Research. One thing that strikes me is that La Mesa prices appear to have leveled off, while the other three seem to be plummeting. Whether this is true, only time will tell and you can be sure that people will be watching this new player’s performance.

Lemon Grove and La Mesa

El Cajon and Spring Valley

I hope you found this introduction to Altos Research helpful. Their main site is at Altos Research and cofounder Mike Simonson’s long-running blog is rich with insight. Tell them you found them here at Redfin.