If, by "luxury", you mean any condo above $600K in price.....

An article in the Boston Herald shines some light on the sales of Boston "luxury" condos.  Not sure if above $600K would be my definition of luxury - I've seen a few real dumps for much more than that - but since above $600K encompasses a large segment of the Boston condo market, the data is very useful to see the stark differences between downtown Boston and the rest of the state (and country).

From the article:

Sales of condos priced at $600,000 or more rose to 849 from January through November, up from 806 for the same period in 2007, a 5.3 percent increase, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Meanwhile, the median price for high-end properties increased by 3.7 percent to $959,000 this year, up from $925,000 in 2007.

While the constant drumbeat of bad real estate news has sent some agents seeking other careers, Boston’s downtown neighborhoods continue to sell. The trend appears to fit the law of supply and demand. One year ago, the MLS Property Information Network listed 471 condos priced above $600,000. Today the total is 403.

By contrast, condo sales in the Bay State through November in all price ranges sank by 23.1 percent to 18,862 from 24,514, while the median condo price retreated 12 percent to $240,000 in November.

On a personal level, at Charlesgate Realty Group, we're bucking the statewide trend as well.  Through our combination of hard work, highly skilled team members, and excellent service, plus a market that's just "not that bad" in our market area, we've been able to have our best year ever in 2008 in terms of dollar volume and number of transactions completed.  No complaints here - if that's a "toot" you hear in the background, it's just my own horn.

Happy New Year!