Hamilton Housing Numbers Explained: Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com

Study 11 · Public Market Research

Research question: Why do reputable housing sites publish different Hamilton prices at the same time, and which number fits which decision?

The numbers are not interchangeable. Zillow's $533,379 figure is a modeled typical home value. Redfin's $424,719 figure is a median for homes sold over the three months ending August 2026. Realtor.com's $595,000 figure is a median asking price. A useful comparison preserves those definitions instead of declaring one provider right and the others wrong.

The same city, ten different measurements

Zillow also published 163 homes in for-sale inventory and 32 new listings for August. Redfin published 31 completed sales in August and 59 median days on market. Realtor.com's September page published 223 active listings, 58 median days on market and a 96% sale-to-list ratio. Differences can reflect each provider's coverage, treatment of listings and sales, update timing, and geographic construction.

Choose the measure by the question

• How has the modeled value of the middle tier changed? Use Zillow ZHVI and keep its modeled-index definition.
• What did recently sold homes trade for? Use a completed-sale measure such as Redfin's rolling three-month median, with its sales count and period.
• What are sellers asking now? Use a listing-market measure such as Realtor.com's median listing price, inventory and days on market.
• What is this property worth? None of these citywide figures answers that alone. Review current competition, relevant completed sales and the property's specific facts.

Why averaging the figures would mislead

A modeled value index represents housing stock. A sale-price median represents the homes that happened to close. A listing median represents the homes offered for sale. Their values can move differently because their populations differ. An average of the three would have no stable market definition.

The periods differ too. Zillow's sale price is dated July, its value and inventory figures are dated August, Redfin's headline covers a rolling three-month period ending August, and Realtor.com's page labels its summary September while noting that historical charts run through August.

Geography and quality limits

All three pages label their coverage Hamilton, but portal boundaries and listing coverage are provider-defined. These are broad city measures, not evidence for a Hamilton neighborhood, a luxury tier, acreage, waterfront, ranch property or an individual address.

The downloadable Realtor.com August 2026 row for ZIP 59840 carries the provider's quality flag, meaning its values are outside their typical range and should be reviewed before reporting. This study therefore cites the values that Realtor.com itself displays on its public Hamilton page and does not use the flagged ZIP row for an original calculation.

Methodology

1. Retrieve the three provider pages on September 29, 2026 and record the provider's displayed measure, geography and period.
2. Preserve modeled values, asking prices and completed-sale prices as separate measures.
3. Do not average the provider values or convert their differences into appreciation, negotiation or property-level conclusions.
4. Review the current Realtor.com ZIP download. Exclude its flagged 59840 row from original calculations because the provider marks it for review.
5. Retain the published update dates and the limitations of small-market coverage.

Suggested citation: MT Lux Real Estate. Hamilton Housing Numbers Explained: Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com. September 29, 2026. Download the methods and source record, or read the companion guide.

For a current Hamilton property comparison, contact Ashley Inglis or call (406) 880-5985.