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According to MLS, the city of Boston presently has 526 condos under agreement.

A sample of a few Boston neighborhoods with condos under agreement:

Back Bay: 45 condos under agreement.
Beacon Hill: 17
Charlestown: 14
Dorchester: 79
Midtown: 4
North End: 9
South Boston: 102
South End: 58

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The owner and operator of Jacob Wirth’s Restaurant on Stuart Street is considering renting 214-218 Cambridge Street in Beacon Hill. Known as the Puffer Building, the property was formerly the home of ERA Boston Real Estate (City-State Real Estate).

The operation would be run similarly to the existing Jacob Wirth location. The idea is to have the kitchen in the basement, a bar on the street level and a dinning room on the second floor.

The lease has not been signed for the space until the neighborhood and Zoning and Licensing approves the concept.

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The median price for single-family homes in Massachusetts shot up in January when compared to the same month last year, driven by low mortgage rates, tax credits and an improving economy.

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors said Tuesday that the median price of a single-family home jumped 14.1 percent in January compared to the year-ago period, to 0,000 from 3,000.

The Warren Group, a Boston-based tracker of real estate data, said the median price rose 9.6 percent over the year to about 5,000.

The two organizations use different calculation methods, but both reported that it was the second consecutive month of increasing prices.

Both groups also reported a double-digit surge in condominium prices, and a significant increase in the number of homes sold.

The following are excerpts from the Boston Herald:

Sales of single-family homes jumped 11.8 percent to 2,153 last month, up from 1,926 in January 2009 – posting double-digit percentage increases for the fourth month in a row, according to The Warren Group’s latest data released this morning.

Condominium sales and median prices also surged last month. Condo sales soared 25.3 percent to 1,011 in January from 807 a year earlier. Condo sales have climbed by more than 10 percent year-over-year for four straight months.The median condo price jumped 16.7 percent to 5,000 from 9,900 in January 2009. It was the third straight month that median condo prices increased year-over-year.

Any thoughs?

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The Great Recession certainly took its toll on cities across the United States. But even with high unemployment rates and declining wages, some communities have done very well for themselves. Portfolio.com surveyed 420 of the largest cities and Newton, MA came in second for highest income.

Excerpts from Portfolio.com: Rich City, Poor City

Newton. MA ranked 2nd.

Median Household Income: 4,493.00.

Median Home Value: 6,300.00

Newton Households Income 0,000 or more: 23%

File Under: Now that’s a good “nabe”

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The Great Recession certainly took its toll on cities across the United States. But even with high unemployment rates and declining wages, some communities have done very well for themselves. Portfolio.com surveyed 420 of the largest cities and Newton, MA came in second for highest income.

Excerpts from Portfolio.com: Rich City, Poor City

Newton. MA ranked 2nd.

Median Household Income: 4,493.00.

Median Home Value: 6,300.00

Newton Households Income 0,000 or more: 23%

File Under: Now that’s a good “nabe”

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The Reuters piece here and the BusinessWeek piece here look like they contradict each other regarding the latest S&P/Case-Shiller report on housing. But they appear to say the same thing in different ways: The housing crunch seems to be easing nationwide.

The confusion comes from whether they look at seasonally or non-seasonally adjusted numbers.

The bottom line: There are signs of improvements.

Your thoughts? Are we reading this wrong?

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Okay, tell me what you think of this idea. Natick-based RE/MAX of New England and The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. of Quincy have partnered to develop “micro real estate offices” in local supermarkets.

This is the first time a major real estate brand has teamed up with a large consumer retailer to house real estate offices in their retail spaces, according to a joint company statement.

The real estate company plans to open 17 offices in Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, according to a statement.

Read the full story from the Boston Herald.

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James Hagerty at the WSJ writes about existing home inventory: Housing Momentum Builds but Perils Persist

Inventories of homes listed for sale are down sharply across the U.S. and have reached very low levels in some areas … The decrease in supplies has sparked a return of bidding wars on lower-end properties in some neighborhoods, but the national picture is mixed.

Here in Boston, we’ve been seeing bidding wars on low end properties since last spring - and that frenzy is driven by a combination of a high number of foreclosures at the low end pushing down prices (what housing economist Tom Lawler called “destickification”), and the first time home buyer tax credit.

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Median prices for single-family homes sold in Boston last year slipped 2 percent to 7,500 from 5,000. But home prices actually managed to creep up in a few city neighborhoods, according to new stats from The Warren Group.

In downtown Boston, which includes posh nabes like Back Bay and Beacon Hill, home prices surged 36.1 percent to almost .96 million from about .44 million. The good news didn’t carry over to downtown’s condo market, however. Median condo prices in downtown fell 6.4 percent from 2008.

File Under: Back Bay Bradley was right again, lets give him a big applause.

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Prices for the most expensive U.S. homes rose in 12 of 17 cities tracked by S&P/Case-Shiller indexes, which also included Boston.

The following is an excerpt from Business Week:

“It does indicate that this is real demand and not just a statistical aberration,” said Karl Case, a co-creator of the indexes. “The ones coming in and buying are very optimistic about this being a good time to buy.”

File Under: More good news for the Boston housing market.

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