Banker & Tradesman’s James Sanna debunks recent reports, based on data from the Greater Boston Association of Realtors, that the median price of a single-family home in Greater Boston surpassed $1 million in June. As James notes, it all depends on how you define “Greater Boston.”* The actual median price is around $850,000, Sanna argues, based on his paper’s definition of Greater Boston. The GBAR data reflects the association’s membership territory.

I had the same doubts about the $1 million figure after reading initial news reports about the GBAR report and after viewing a map of what the group defines as “Greater Boston” (see map above). To the north of Boston, Everett, Chelsea and Revere are part of “Greater Boston” but not Saugus and Lynn? To the south of the city, Milton, Canton and Randolph are part of “Greater Boston” but not Quincy, Braintree and Holbrook? To the west along 495, Hudson is part of “Greater Boston” but not Marlborough and Southboro? There are more examples. But you get the picture.

* Disclosure: I regularly write for B&T. The opinions and thoughts here are all my own.