Thanks a lot Dustin, now things are even more confusing.



So, Dustin suggested that I examine data prior to 2008 to see if we could learn more about why single family home values surged in the City of Harrisonburg in 2010.  Well, as you can see above, we may have been fooled by looking just at 2008-2012 data.

I have highlighted (in yellow) the time frames when the City and County median prices were relatively similar.  Now you'll note that there were two surges in values --- City values surged ahead in 2010 (and then stepped back into line) --- but before that, County values surged head in 2005-2007 before stepping back into line.

What explains it?  Gas prices?  Home buyer tax credits?