Home Sweet Home

Objective: Analyze data about homes in your area and draw conclusions supported by mathematical calculations.

Major task: Using any number of websites (Redfin, Trulia, Zillow, etc.), find 25 homes in the same zip code and record the following information about those homes:

  • Sale price
  • Square footage
  • Year Sold
  • # of Bedrooms
  • # of Bathrooms

Enter the above data into the Homes Spreadsheet Template

Extension questions:

  1. MEAN, MEDIAN AND MODE
  2. Calculate the mean, median and mode of each stat category above.
  3. Focusing on the home prices in your neighborhood, if you were a buyer, which measure of central tendency would you want to use and why? If you were a seller, which would you want to use? Justify your answer(s).
  4. In general, give an explanation of how someone could argue each measure of central tendency could be used as the best example to use. For example, why would the Mode be the best example to use? Answer the same about the Median and the Mean.
  1. PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT
  2. Using formulas in your excel spreadsheet, calculate the average price per square foot of each homes in your chosen neighborhood? Calculate the standard deviation of your price per square foot. Between all the prices per square foot, the standard deviation and any other factors you choose, draw some conclusions as to why the price per square foot is often used by realtors, home sellers, etc. to compare homes on the market.
  3. Consult with at least four of your classmates and compare your price per sq. ft. to theirs. What can you conclude about the similarities and/or differences in those dollar amounts? Make sure you cite your examples, data, etc.
  4. Construct a box and whisker plot of the sale price of your homes. Construct a separate box and whisker plot of the price per square foot. Analyze the two and draw some conclusions.
  5. Are there any outliers? What do those represent?
  6. What does the individual data tell you?
  7. How might you use this in buying or selling a home?
  8. Compare the two plots and provide an analysis.
  1. CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
  2. If two houses in the same zip code are the exact same square footage, name and elaborate on at least five factors that could cause one house to sell for more than the other.
  3. Create a scatter plot, graphing the square footage of each house against the sale price. Is there a regression model that fits the scenario? Which one? Find the equation of that model? How accurate is the model? Justify with mathematical examples/data/calculations.
  4. Using your previous knowledge about exponential functions and home mortgages, pick one of the houses in your example and answer the following:
  5. Find an interest rate from an actual bank
  6. Factor in a 20% down payment
  7. Use the remaining amount to finance under a 30-year mortgage and find the monthly payment
  8. How much would you pay in total for the house after the 30 years?
  1. WORKS CITED PAGE
  2. Cite all of your sources used from the internet and your classmates projects