Toronto Life's neighbourhood real estate summaries. Average vs. median home prices?

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I hadn't come across Toronto Life's real estate guide until recently. They have rollover maps summarizing specific regions in West Toronto, Central Toronto, and East Toronto.

On the rollover maps it says the prices listed are average 2007 prices, but when you go to the specific pages linked to those rollovers, it indicates they're median 2007 prices. Which is correct? I suspect the latter.

However, some of the numbers are quite surprising to me either way. For example, while several Central Toronto regions have prices over $2 million, so does Edenbridge - Humber Valley in the West and Birchcliffe - Cliffside in the East.

That seems high. I don't know Etobicoke very well, but I know Central Toronto and Scarborough a bit better. Birchcliffe-Cliffside has a lot of expensive homes south of Kingston Road (esp. near The Beach), but then again, many detached homes north of Kingston Road are in the sub $500000 range. So, I'm surprised by a 2007 $2.15 million price, whether it'd be average or median. Were there that many (two to three) million dollar homes sold in that region in 2007? The price listed is actually 50% higher than The Beach.

 

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They have since told me they are indeed median prices. Whatever the case, I'm surprised by the high numbers. Perhaps there was an unusually high number of sales in the Fallingbrook and Bluffs areas for example where large expensive homes are, with comparatively few sales during that period north of Kingston Road.

It will be interesting to see what the new median prices will be when they update it again in August.