We made a graph today that we found interesting. It's the distribution of home sales prices from September of this year from the National Association of Realtors. It shows that most homes sold for prices that, to someone living in an expensive, coastal city, seem pretty affordable.
We weren't sure if that was just our provincial, New York point of view. So we asked on Twitter what the headline should be.
What strikes you about this graph? Planet Money wants you to give us your best shot at a headline! pic.twitter.com/gtpHMb2eQu
— NPR's Planet Money (@planetmoney) November 19, 2013
Several people were struck, like us, by the divide between coastal enclaves and the national picture:
@planetmoney Not everyone lives in NY, SF or LA
— Gates VP 💙 💜 💖 🇨🇦 (@gatesvp) November 19, 2013
Thank you Gaetan Voyer-Perraul. In the end, we decided to go with your headline.
@planetmoney Not very many people live in San Francisco, New York City, and Washington D.C.
— Stephen T Casper (@TheNeuroTimes) November 19, 2013
Others looked more broadly at the distribution of prices:
@planetmoney 90% of single family homes are under $500K
— Miguel Rodriguez (@miguelrodriguez) November 19, 2013
These folks had strong feelings about our color scheme and design:
@planetmoney candy corn now available in rectangular shape
— Travis Larchuk (@larchuk) November 19, 2013
And some people just hated the chart:
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@planetmoney That's an awful visualization....
— Kyle Campbell 📈🏥 (@Zaphod137) November 19, 2013