I regularly question the math I see in newspapers. For instance, from this article on foreclosure rates in St. George… is this correct:
The rate of foreclosure in existing mortgage loans jumped to 1.6 percent in September, an increase of 1 percent from the same month in 2007, according to a First American CoreLogic report.
or is this correct:
The rate of foreclosure in existing mortgage loans jumped from .6 to 1.6 percent in September, an increase of 166 percent from the same month in 2007, according to a First American CoreLogic report.
Hint… a journalist wrote the first. I wrote the second.
BTW: the days of easy money are over for realtors:
“The days of quick, easy money are gone for realtors,” he said, “It is certainly the most challenging market in Washington County in at least 25 to 30 years”
Frankly…. That seems one plus of this ugly time.
November 25th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
It’s not wrong math, it’s wrong terminology. The author should have used the term “percentage point” to go from 0.6 to 1.6 percent. Your calculation is also correct but not the way such change is usually reported. One has to be careful with percentages to clarify the base from which any percentage change is calculated.
November 25th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I could have titled it “journalists and precise writing”.