Median downtown Boston townhouse price jumped at the end of 2018: Report

The average sales price of a downtown Boston townhouse in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $1,636,033, according to an analysis from appraiser Miller Samuel and brokerage Douglas Elliman. The median price was $1.2 million, and the average per square foot was $681.

The overall and per-square-foot averages were both down from the third quarter of 2018 and from the fourth quarter of 2017. But the median price—a better measure because a ginormous sale here and there is unlikely to skew it—was up 18.1 percent annually and 6.2 percent quarterly.

Part of the reason might be a shrinking supply of available townhouses. Inventory was down 10.3 percent annually in the fourth quarter rand 45.8 recent quarterly, according to the report.

Sales were up for the quarter, though—5.1 percent from the three months before and 7.8 percent from the same period in 2017. This was in marked contrast to sales of downtown Boston condos. The number of closed condo deals tanked to end the year.

The Miller Samuel-Douglas Elliman report tracked neighborhoods such as Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Fenway, the North End, the West End, the South End, the Seaport District, and South Boston.

• Downtown Boston condo market sees sharp drop in sales as median price hits $838,500 [Curbed Boston]