Boston’s Priciest Condos Disappearing Fast in Luxury Sales Boom

(Bloomberg) -- Downtown Boston has gotten so crowded with high-paid workers that there’s hardly any luxury real estate left for them to buy.

In the first quarter, the median price for a high-end condo rose almost 43% from a year earlier to $3.9 million, according to data from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate released Thursday. There were only 59 listings in the top 10% of the condo market, about a quarter of the level a year earlier.

Urban markets like Boston, New York and San Francisco are catching up to the suburbs and lower-cost cities, which began booming soon after the Covid lockdowns two years ago. Now, as pandemic restrictions ease, the city lifestyle is increasingly attractive for those who can afford to make the most of it. That’s especially true in the Boston area where biotech, health care and other industries with big salaries are flourishing.

Inventory is tightening, partly because owners of high-end condos are reluctant to sell in an inflationary environment, when they expect prices to keep rising, said Richard Ferrari, chief executive officer of Douglas Elliman’s Northeast region.

“They don’t want to let go,” Ferrari said. 

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