Boston Common condos that sold in the 4th Q of 2011 compared to 2010:

Number of Boston Common/Midtown sales 2011 – 27
Number of Boston Common/Midtwon sales 2010 – 26

Average Boston Common/Midtown sales price 2011 – $1,220,586.00
Average Boston Common/Midtown sales price 2010 – $1,039,838.00

Average Boston Common/Midtown sales price per sq ft – $883.00
Average Boston Common/Midtown sales price per sq ft – $801.00

There’s a saying: You cannot hold back a surging tide and apparently, Boston real estate brokers couldn’t hold back the housing tidal wave slump from hitting the South End.

Boston South End condo sales for the 4th Q.

Number of South End condo sales 4th Q 2011 – 132
Number of South End condo sales 4th Q 2010 – 136

Average South End condo sales price 4th Q 2011 – $656,048.00
Average South End condo sales price 4th Q 2010 – $761,497.00

Median South End condo sales price 4th Q 2011 – $570,000.00
Median South End condo sales price 4th Q 2010 – $589,000.00

Average South End condo sales price per sq ft 2011 – $611.00
Average South End condo sales price per sq ft 2010 – $626.00

Boston condo price reductions based on MLS data.

BOSTON CONDO ASKING PRICES 

Boston condo price reductions, last 60 days.

Number of Back Bay condo listings – 187/# price reductions  -4

Number of Beacon Hill condo listings – 57/# price reductions – 1

Number of Hyde Park condo listings – 22/# price reductions – 1

Leather District condo listings – 11/# price reductions – 1

Jamaica Plain condo listings – 98/# price reductions -0

Boston Common condo listings – 44/# price reductions – 1

Boston Seaport condo listings – 29/# price reductions – 1

Boston South End condo listings – 152/# price reductions – 7

Boston Waterfront condo listings – 90/# price reductions – 0

A friend reports that a Brighton couple who just bought their modest condo in 2007 had to sell this winter to relocate for a job. The young couple was naturally concerned about selling in winter, and in this market — and in Brighton. As it turns out, they didn’t have to worry. First, they had bought a floor of a renovated triple decker, and it was a very good renovation (for example, the kitchen and bathrooms were rebuilt from the studs up; a clever developer rebuilt the pantries into laundry rooms). Second, they staged very well (making the place look like a model rather than a lived-in home). Third, they priced well. The result? After only 1 week, they got 98% of their asking price, which was only slightly below what they paid 4 years ago.

Numbers that came out yesterday from the Warren Group and and Massachusetts Association of Realtors paint a similar picture. Statewide,  single-family home sales are increasing while prices continue to drop. In other words, it finally seems like we’re hitting the trigger point in the market where prices drop to the point it’s getting buyers off the sidelines. No doubt the general belief that mortgage rates will rise over 2011 is playing its part too.

Statewide, home sales rose 6.9 percent in December of 2010 (compared to a year ago). That’s the first sales number increase since June 2010. Prices continued their decline year-over-year. December’s numbers put single-family home prices 5.9 percent lower than December 2009. THAT certainly helps explain the boost in sales.

The condo market statewide remains in the odd pattern of slightly falling sales numbers, but rises in median prices. For December, sales slid 1.2 percent compared to a year earlier while the median price rose 3.1 percent.