The Back Bay condo chart above shows fourth quarter sales comparison based on a per square foot basis. Click on Back Bay condo chart to enhance.

Back Bay condo sales for 700 square ft or less increased 81.25% compared to the 4th Q 2010.

Back Bay condo sales from 701 – 1,000 square ft increased 11.76% compared to the 4th Q 2010.

Back Bay condo sales for 1,001 sq ft – 1,500 sq ft down 16%.

Back Bay condo sale for 1,501 sq ft – 1,600 sq ft even from 2010.

Back Bay condo sales for 1,800 – 2,400 down 31.25% from 2010.

Back Bay condo sales over 2,400 sq ft down 53.33% from 2010.

A new chocolate shop will be opening at 220 Clarendon St., between Newbury and Bolyston streets, and plans to start doling out its chocolate and other treats as early as next month.

More information on the Back Bay chocolate shop.

Jonathan Papelbon, who signed with the Phillies after this year’s disastrous Sox season, is now selling his Back Bay pad for $3.1 million. The four-bedroom penthouse on Beacon Street has has a cool roof deck and spare bedroom made out to look like a Fenway locker room. The best part: It’s not tacky.

For the fourth straight month, the confidence of local Realtors has increased in Massachusetts, reflecting a small pick-up in homes sales.

Compared to the little girl in the post below, at least someone’s happy these days.

File under: Holiday spirts, redux

You might be thinking: “OK, Boston Real Estate Blog is really stooping low in order to somehow get Renee Zellweger’s famous traffic-driving name in a blog post.”

But, wait! There really is a local Boston real-estate angle. The person handling the blonde Hollywood actresses’s sale of her Connecticut colonial home for $1.5 million is none other than the Back Bay’s Jonathan Radford.

So there.

Not that shamelessly trying to get Renee Zellweger’s famous traffic-driving name in a local blog post is beneath us. But when you have a local angle, you go with the local angle.

File under: Integrity