Another reason for consumer confusion about the state of the market is misleading presentation of data by those with a vested interest. We can always rely on the Real Estate Institute of Victoria to fudge the figures and put a positive spin on negative information - and its recent Regional Victoria median price report is a shining example.

The REIV managed to produce five-paragraph news summary of the Regional Victoria median price results for the March quarter without acknowledging that every location in the survey showed declines in property values - quite substantial falls in some cases.

I guess they hoped lazy journalists would publish the press release and not take the time to look at the figures. So here's what the figures tell us:

Ballarat's median house price has fallen 6% in the past 12 months.

Contrary to the REIV's assertion that Bendigo has shown "solid increases in value over the past year", the city's median price rose just 2% for the year, but fell 3.3% in the March quarter.

Geelong's median price rose a modest 5% for the year, but fell 2% in the March quarter.

Wellington Shire's median house price fell 4% over the past 12 months, but showed a small improvement in the March quarter.

Shepparton's median price fell 21% over the past year, including 12% in the March quarter.

The REIV's inability to provide an honest appraisal of the figures is the reason why the most interesting headline they could construct for their report was: "March quarter median house prices released".