Frequently Asked Questions

HomeStats is a free, transparent housing market dashboard that tracks median sale prices, active inventory, days on market, mortgage rates, and price drops across all 50 U.S. states. Data is sourced weekly from Redfin, FRED, FHFA, U.S. Census Bureau, HUD, BEA, and FBI UCR. No paywall, no login, no app download required.

Housing market data is updated weekly. Redfin market tracker data refreshes every week. FRED macro indicators (mortgage rates, unemployment, housing starts) update on their own schedules — typically weekly or monthly. Census ACS data updates annually. The "Last Updated" timestamp on the dashboard shows the most recent data refresh.

The HomeStats Market Score is a composite index from 0 to 100 that measures whether a housing market favors buyers or sellers. It combines five publicly verifiable indicators: days on market trend, price cut percentage, sale-to-list ratio, inventory levels, and year-over-year price change. A score of 0-39 indicates a seller-friendly market, 40-59 is neutral, and 60-100 is buyer-friendly. Unlike proprietary indexes, every input is transparent.

All data comes from public sources: Redfin Data Center (weekly MLS housing metrics), FRED at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (mortgage rates, unemployment, housing starts), U.S. Census Bureau ACS (population, income, homeownership), FHFA (House Price Index), HUD (Fair Market Rents), BEA (Regional Price Parities), FBI UCR (crime rates), EPA SDWIS (water quality), and FEMA NRI (natural hazard risk). We do not use any proprietary or paywalled data.

Yes, completely free. There is no paywall, no login requirement, no app to download, and no premium tier. All data, calculators, reports, and AI analyst prompts are available to everyone. The site is supported by book recommendations for related housing market research.

A buyer-friendly market (score 60-100) has conditions that favor home buyers: rising inventory, longer days on market, increasing price drops, and slowing price appreciation. Buyers have more choices, more negotiating leverage, and less competition. A seller-friendly market (score 0-39) is the opposite: low inventory, fast sales, prices rising quickly, and homes selling above asking price.

The data is as accurate as the public sources it comes from. Redfin MLS data covers approximately 95% of U.S. home sales. FRED data comes directly from federal agencies. Census data is from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates. We apply no adjustments or smoothing — the numbers you see are the numbers from the source.

Yes. Visit the Reports page to export housing market data for all 50 states as CSV, HTML, or plain text. The state-level JSON data is also available programmatically at homestats.app/data/states/index.json with CORS enabled for cross-origin access.

HomeStats includes five free calculators: an Affordability Calculator (checks your PITI, PMI, and DTI against the 28/36 rule), a Rent vs. Buy Calculator (compares wealth-building paths with breakeven analysis), a Condo True Cost Calculator (projects HOA fee compounding over 10-25 years), a Resale Breakeven Calculator (calculates how long you need to stay to break even after selling costs), and a Commission Savings Calculator (compares flat-fee MLS services vs. traditional 5-6% realtor commissions).

The AI Market Analyst is a prompt generator that creates pre-loaded analysis prompts you can paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any AI chatbot. It includes eight named analyst personas — from a five-voice roundtable to a contrarian risk analyst — each with a different analytical lens. The prompts are pre-filled with live housing data so the AI starts with real numbers, not guesses.

Currently, HomeStats provides state-level data for all 50 U.S. states. County-level data from Redfin and FEMA is being added. The search bar supports city names and ZIP codes, which route to the corresponding state page. When you search for a city like "Phoenix" or a ZIP code like "85001," you will be directed to the Arizona state housing market page.

HomeStats was created by J.A. Watte, author of The Condo Trap, The Resale Trap, and The W-2 Trap. The site is part of a broader effort to make housing market data accessible and transparent. Learn more at jwatte.com.

Three key differences: (1) HomeStats is 100% free with no paywall or account required. (2) The scoring methodology is fully transparent — you can see exactly how the score is calculated and verify every input. Zillow and Realtor.com use proprietary black-box algorithms. (3) HomeStats focuses on market analysis and decision-making tools, not listings.

Water quality data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). It shows the number of drinking water violations in each state, including health-based violations that exceed EPA maximum contaminant levels. For the most current and detailed tap water quality in your specific area, visit the EWG Tap Water Database at ewg.org/tapwater, which applies stricter health-based guidelines than EPA minimums.

Natural hazard data comes from the FEMA National Risk Index (NRI), which scores each state for overall risk, expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. It covers 18 hazard types including earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, wildfires, heat waves, drought, and hail. The risk rating ranges from "Very Low" to "Very High" based on historical frequency, exposure, and vulnerability.