April sales numbers see slight increase since March

April condo sales in the 11 sections of the city covered by Boston Homes were slightly higher than a year earlier, but in a year-to-year comparison the volume of sales was down 30 percent.

The median sale prices in these neighborhoods were down as well in both month-to-month and year-to-year comparisons.

The median selling price in the Back Bay/Midtown neighborhood was $711,000.

The only bright spots were in the Charlestown/Navy Yard and in the Fenway, where median selling prices were higher in April than a month or a year earlier, according to the Listing Information Network, which tracks these Boston sales.

In the Downtown area, the median selling price was $426,000 for an 852-square-foot one-bedroom refurbished unit at Lofts Avana at 42-44 Beach St.

The other areas covered by Boston Homes are Back Bay and Midtown; Beacon Hill and the West End; Downtown, which includes the Chinatown, the Leather District, Fort Point and Seaport; Jamaica Plain; South Boston; the South End and Bay Village; the Waterfront, the Financial District and the North End; East Boston and Dorchester.

Some of the sales recorded at the Registry of Deeds were foreclosures; others were short sales or not at arm’s length or there is a relationship between seller and buyer, like father and son. Other sales are the recorded transactions of condos that were under construction for many months.

Sale numbers and median prices give only a quick snapshot of what has been happening in the marketplace. The median sale price is the transaction midway between the volume of sales in that neighborhood Half the sales were higher, the other half lower.

You have to look beyond these numbers. A prime example is the median sale price in April 2008 in the Waterfront/North End neighborhood.

It was $1.1 million for a one-bedroom condo at Battery Wharf, one of 27 sales, 11 at this new mixed-use development. In the other areas the median selling price ranged from $225,000 in Dorchester to $775,000 in the Back Bay.

Location, square footage, condition, whether it’s new construction and parking availability are all factors that tell a better picture.

The Back Bay/Midtown neighborhood saw the highest median sale in April at $711,000. That sum purchased a 1,043-square-foot condo at 391 Commonwealth Ave.

A year earlier, the median selling price was $775,000 for an 800-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 48 Commonwealth Ave. In March, the median sale was a 946-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 390 Commonwealth Ave. that sold for $725,000.

The median selling price in the South End in April was $482,500, which purchased an 800-square-foot one-bedroom condo at 17 Worcester St.

A year earlier, the median sale was a one-plus bedroom unit with 908 square feet at the Penmark at 21 Fr. Francis Gilday St., which sold for $530,000. That compares to the $550,000 sale in March of a 975-square-foot condo with two bedrooms at 269 Shawmut Ave.

A totally renovate two-bedroom, 981-square-foot condo at 66-68 High St. in Charlestown sold for $470,000 in April, which was higher than the median a year earlier when an 80-square-foot, two-bedroom unit at 17 Salem St. sold for $430,000. In March, it was a two-bedroom, 969-uare-foot condo at Flagship Wharf that sold for $354,000 that was the median sale.

A newly renovated 852-square-foot, one-bedroom at Lofts Avana at 42-44 Beach St. was the Downtown median at $426,000 in April. That contrasts with the median sale of $554,000 for a one-bedroom unit at 35 Channel Center with 1,337 square feet of living space a year earlier. In March, the median sale was $455,000 for a one-plus bedroom with 998 square feet at the Allele at 150 Dorchester Ave.

In the Fenway, a 1,048-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 857 Beacon St. that sold for $416,500 was the median sale in April, compared to a year earlier when the median selling price was $379,000 for a 664-square-foot studio in the newly built Audubon Park development at 16 Miner St. In March, the median sale price was $265,000 for a 790-square-foot, two-bedroom unit at 390 The Riverway which sold for $265,000.

The Waterfront/North End neighborhood saw a sharp contrast in median selling prices, with a 1,181-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 33 North Bennet St. selling for $388,000 last month compared to the $1.1 million sale at Battery Wharf, which was a one-bedroom unit with 1,077 square feet. In March the median selling price was $525,000 for a 1,052- square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 338 Commercial St.

The median selling price in East Boston was $223,125 in April for an 812-square-foot loft at Porter 156 at 156 Porter St.

An 899-square-foot, one-bedroom condo at 9 Hawthorne Place in Charles River Park that sold for $360,000 was the median sale in April. A year earlier, it was a 1,179-square-foot, two-bedroom unit nearby at 6 Whittier Place, which sold for $390,000. In March an 849-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 37 Grove St. that sold for $595,000 was the median.

Jamaica Plain’s median selling price was $300,000 in April, which purchased a 955-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 53 Boynton St. A year earlier, it was a $322,000 sale at 21 Boynton St. that has 947 square feet and two bedrooms. March’s median selling price was $319,000 for a 1,100-square-foot, three-bedroom condo at 26 Robeson St.

In South Boston, a $290,000 condo at 12 National St. with 1,265 square feet and two bedrooms was the median sale in April, compared to $365,000 a year earlier, which purchased an 892-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 368 Dorchester St. In March, it was a 1,133-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at Avenue 152, 152 Old Colony Ave. that sold for $325,000 that was the median.

East Boston and Dorchester had the lowest median sale prices. In East Boston, an 812-square-foot loft at 156 Porter St. that sold for $223,125 was the median, compared to an 873-square-foot two-bedroom condo at 281 Webster St. that sold for $310,000 a year earlier. The March median sale was also at 156 Porter St., when a 929 square-foot loft sold for $280,000.

Dorchester’s median selling price was $112,500 in April, which purchased a 2,356-square-foot, three-bedroom unit, at 10 Hartford St. A year earlier, the median was $225,000 for a 978-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 60 Topliff St. That compares to a month earlier, when the median selling price was $145,000 for a 1,058-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 96 Train St.