9 Responses to “Back Bay condo sales data” »»

1. fellowblogger
   Comment by fellowblogger | 01/01/09 at 10:06 am

   Finally, someone else reports the truth. I’ve been telling people for weeks when you look at the actual data, Back Bay is up! No one wants to believe it though, because every night they hear how bad the housing market is on the news. The news needs to remind people real estate is local and they should always ask a local realtor how their market is doing.

2. pain in the
   Comment by pain in the | 01/01/09 at 2:20 pm

   What about medians?

3. linkwatch
   Comment by linkwatch | 01/02/09 at 5:58 pm

   I’ve been looking at this data. If you take out the super high end properties being purchased by people whose assets assure they are not actually part of the economy, there is a distinct decline in ppsf of median properties. So it’s true there is an average increase but if you are looking to pay 750k-ish for a place things still seem to be headed down.

4. John Keith
   Comment by John Keith | 01/02/09 at 7:24 pm

   linkwatch, are you suggesting that properties are becoming more “affordable” in the Back Bay? If so, I would disagree, based on sales activity data.

   Median price might only be lower because of the types of properties being sold, right now. It looks as though at least half the sales during the past three months have been studios or one-beds under 500 square feet. During the last three months of 2007, you saw more sales of one-beds and two-beds.

   Those owners are now waiting on the sidelines for the market to turn.

   I think an owner who put his/her property on the market today would get what he/she did last year, or the year before.

   Here’s some data that supports your theory, but I think more analysis is necessary.

   For properties in the Back Bay sold for under $750,000, the Listing Information Network, Inc. shows the following:

   10/01/08 – 1/01/09
   Listings: 34
   Avg. $: $459,853
   Median $: $422,500
   Avg. $/SF: $677
   Avg. DOM: 63

   10/01/07 – 1/01/08
   Listings: 63
   Avg. $: $460,782
   Median $: $445,000
   Avg. $/SF: $672
   Avg. DOM: 73

   For properties in the Back Bay sold for under $1 million, the Listing Information Network, Inc. shows the following:

   10/01/08 – 1/01/09
   Listings: 48
   Avg. $: $576,250
   Median $: $572,000
   Avg. $/SF: $682
   Avg. DOM: 83

   10/01/07 – 1/01/08
   Listings: 75
   Avg. $: $521,327
   Median $: $495,000
   Avg. $/SF: $678
   Avg. DOM: 78

5. John Keith
   Comment by John Keith | 01/02/09 at 8:05 pm

   For example, only a third of 4th-quarter 2007 sales were under $400,000 whereas fully half of 4th-quarter 2008 sales were under $400,000.

   Here is the data. I haven’t analyzed it. It might be worth looking through it to see if there are any trends or conclusions that can be made.

   4th-quarter 2007

   4th-quarter 2008

6. Numbers Guy
   Comment by Numbers Guy | 01/04/09 at 3:17 pm

   The only way to know the truth is to look at resales like Case-Schiller (and I believe Radar Logic?)…

7. John Keith
   Comment by John Keith | 01/04/09 at 4:40 pm

   Numbers Guy, if you are talking about the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, it wouldn’t be of much use. – that index doesn’t include condominium sales.

   They did start up an alternate index, available on their website.

   Using January 2000 as its baseline, prices in the 3rd-quarter 2008 are at 166% of what they were, then, off from a high of 177% in mid-2006.

8. Numbers Guy
   Comment by Numbers Guy | 01/04/09 at 9:30 pm

   John Keith,

   Thanks — is that for the entire city or just for Back Bay? I couldn’t find neighborhood-specific numbers at the S&P website.

9. John Keith
   Comment by John Keith | 01/04/09 at 10:54 pm

   It’s only for the city as a whole. They aren’t specific, it may be for the Greater Boston area or MSA, even.

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