Downtown Boston condo prices by neighborhood show where the deals might be

The downtown Boston condo market exited 2019 pretty strongly from a seller’s standpoint. Prices were up significantly over the same time in 2018, and sales surged year over year. Not surprisingly, too, figures varied from neighborhood to neighborhood, with some significantly more expensive and busier than others.

Here is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown then of median sales prices and sales amounts from the fourth quarter of last year based on closed deals. They were compiled in a report from appraiser Miller Samuel and brokerage Douglas Elliman.

And we’re using median prices as those are a better indicator than average prices, which one or two large deals can skew.

Back Bay. This neighborhood’s median condo sales price was up 89.1 percent annually, to $2,090,000. And Back Bay was the only neighborhood, incidentally, where the average condo sales price per square foot in the fourth quarter was more than $2,000. Sales were up 32.3 percent, to 137.

Beacon Hill. Here the median sales prices as up 20 percent annually, to $861,000. And the number of condo sales was up 76 percent, to 44.

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Charlestown. This neighborhood might be worth exploring for possible condo deals. The median sales price was down in the fourth quarter 12.7 percent annually, to $690,000. In fact, every major price indicator, including the average per square foot, was down. Sales were up 51 percent, to 77.

Fenway. Here’s another enclave with possible deal potential, at least by downtown Boston standards. The median condo sales price was $604,500 in the fourth quarter, down 11.8 percent annually. Sales were down, too, 7.7 percent, to 24.

Midtown. What the Miller Samuel-Douglas Elliman report calls Midtown, and what we might better call Downtown Crossing, saw a pretty sizable median sales price drop—down 15.4 percent, to $1,275,000. The number of sales was up 5.6 percent, to 38.

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The North End. The uber-historic neighborhood’s median condo price rose 24 percent annually, to $732,000, and sales were down 17.6 percent, to 14.

The Seaport District. Condo prices were not as through-the-roof as one might’ve expected in the Seaport, what with all of its recent luxury closings. But the condo median was still pretty hefty: $1,377,500, up 45.8 percent year over year. The number of sales was up 120 percent, to 66.

The Waterfront. Another area where we might’ve expected to see more titanic numbers relative to its recent history. The median condo price was up 1.2 percent annually, to $1,262,500, and sales were up 21.4 percent, to 34.

South Boston. Here the median condo price was up 5.4 percent annually, to $737,500, and sales were up similarly—5.8 percent, to 128.

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The South End. The median condo price in this neighborhood was up 10.8 percent annually, to $975,000, and sales were up 0.9 percent, to 113.

The West End. Here, finally, the median condo price was down sharply in the fourth quarter: 27.6 percent, to $555,000. The number of condo sales was down, too, 15.4 percent, to 11.