Boston Condo Prices Are Up 17 Percent This Year

The Boston real estate market showed continued strength last month, according to the latest data compiled by the Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Condominium sales volume in Boston Proper was up 12.80 percent in April 2014 compared with April 2013. There were 141 condo closings in April of this year. Year-to-date, activity is up almost 21 percent.

The median sales price in April was actually down just a bit. It now costs $612,750 to buy the median-priced condominium in Boston Proper, down 3 percent from last year. Year-to-date, the median sales price is up 17.07 percent.

In comparison, there were 126 condo sales in Boston Proper in April 2010 and 124 condo sales in April 2011, so activity has stayed constant—actually stronger—even as prices have risen. The median price was $530,000 in April 2011, according to the Warren Group.

Below, Boston condominium activity by neighborhood in April 2014 compared with April 2013:

Allston
Condo sales volume up 66.67%
Median sales price $345,810, up 38.05%

Boston Proper*
Condo sales volume up 12.80%
Median sales price $612,750, down 3.05%

Brighton
Condo sales volume down 35.90%
Median sales price $305,000, up 15.09%

Charlestown
Condo sales volume up 3.45%
Median sales price $558,250, up 35.17%

Dorchester
Condo sales volume up 40.74%
Median sales price $323,750, up 20.35%

East Boston
Condo sales volume up 300.00%
Median sales price $252,000, down 7.86%

Roxbury
Condo sales volume down 21.74%
Median sales price $549,875, up 19.54%

South Boston
Condo sales volume up 9.80%
Median sales price $490,000, up 13.95%

For Massachusetts as a whole, the Warren Group reported that condominium sales increased in April by 7.0 percent to 1,596 from 1,493 in April 2013. A total of 5,018 condo sale transactions were recorded in the first four months of the year, a 10.5 percent gain from the 4,542 sales the prior year. April marks the 10th consecutive month of condo sales increases.

The Massachusetts median condo sales price increased 10.7 percent in April to $310,000 compared with $280,000 in April 2013. The year-to-date median condo price also posted a big increase, climbing 15.0 percent to $298,750 from $260,000 during the same time the previous year.

“Condos are proving to be a very popular segment of the market and the high demand is driving up the prices. For April, the median price of a condo is just $5,000 below the median price of a single-family home. Ten years ago, the difference was $72,000,” Tim Warren of the Warren Group said via press release.

Something to keep in mind is that the data above is for condos that went under agreement 6-8 weeks earlier, meaning the activity took place in February, a miserably cold month in Boston. The market was even stronger in the slightly less cold months of March and April, which we’ll see reflected in future sales numbers.

*Boston Proper includes Beacon Hill, Back Bay, South End, North End, West End, Waterfront, Chinatown, Midtown, Bay Village, and The Fenway.