Price tag for the American dream: $130K a year

[SheilaT]

80. I did not think I was confusing the two

As I know perfectly well the difference between the two.

So I guess I should correct my statement to say average home price can still be very misleading.

Here in Santa Fe, I bought a place significantly less than the average sales price here, which is currently above $600,000. When we bought in Overland Park, Kansas, some years back, we bought a place that was about 50% more than the then average price.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes the figures on average or median housing prices (even understanding that they can still be very different measures) is still misleading. Many people who live here in Santa Fe consider it incredibly expensive. It's not. These are people who haven't a clue what housing costs are like in the LA area or NYC, just to name two. For them, the only point of comparison is Albuquerque, which does tend to be less expensive. I'm quite amazed at the many people who live in ABQ and commute here to Santa Fe. Several years ago I overheard a man telling someone that he was paying something like $500 a month for gas in his car to commute. Maybe it was even more money, I can't recall exactly. All I could think was how much he'd save by living closer.