If you watch the news or read the paper, you probably hear all kinds of things about the real estate market. But what's really going on -- and how does it affect you?
While there is a near-endless array of statistics that are designed to measure the health of the nation's real estate market, these 10 numbers are some of the most important -- and they'll also come as a total surprise:
1. As of July 2012, the nation's average home sale price was $189,500. That's $20,000 more than the average selling price back on March 1st. Even better news? The average listing price is currently $194,900 -- meaning that sellers are getting just about everything they're asking for.