Definition
Transaction volume is how much actually traded in a market over a period, counted in deals, in units, or in dollars. It measures activity rather than price, and it is the honest counterweight to any price statistic: a price computed from very few sales is a number with almost nothing behind it.
How to read it
How to read it
- Report it beside every price statistic. A median from four sales and one from forty are not the same kind of claim.
- Falling volume usually shows up before falling prices, because sellers withdraw before they discount.
- Count the same way each time. Deals, units and dollars tell different stories, and switching between them manufactures a trend.
- Portfolio and entity transfers can distort a small sample badly. One recorded deed is not always one sale.
Related terms
Related terms
All termsMarkets
Bid-Ask Spread
The bid-ask spread is the distance between what sellers are asking and what buyers are willing to pay.
MarketsSubmarket
A submarket is the smallest area within which properties genuinely compete for the same tenant and the same buyer.
MarketsComparable Sale
A comparable sale is a closed transaction used as evidence of what a subject property is worth.
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