The real estate market can sometimes send out confusing signals. Last week newly released monthly data showed a surge in sales of single-family homes in February. But a deeper dive into the data yields a less startling result: the numbers haven't changed much in the past few years. The accompanying data by real estate firm Redfin shows how the housing market in the eastern half of Massachusetts performed over the last three years by four key measures.

An additional fact not on the charts: Redfin reports that the difference between the original or first listing price, and the sale price is itself narrowing as the market becomes busier. "As prices stabilize, people are not doing this overlisting" on price, said Alex Coon, Redfin's Boston manager. "More and more people now aren't charging too much, because it didn't do them any good. That means it's a healthier market."

NOTE: Data not available for all towns.