Prices are up, but sales dip in January

January sales of condominiums and co-operatives dropped in year-over-year and month-to-month comparisons, but prices increased in many of the neighborhoods covered by Boston Homes.

The top sale on the waterfront was a $2.35 million penthouse at the Residences at the Intercontinental.

The Listing Information Network reported just 170 condo sales in January, compared to 210 a year ago. In December, 333 sales were tallied.

Boston Homes covers 11 areas in the city – Back Bay and Midtown; Beacon Hill and the West End; Charlestown and the Navy Yard; Downtown, the Leather District, Fort Point and Seaport; Fenway; Jamaica Plain; South Boston; the South End and Bay Village; the Waterfront, North End and the Financial District, Dorchester and East Boston.

Median sale prices increased in four neighborhoods – Back Bay/Midtown, Charlestown, South Boston and South End/Bay Village – in both a year-over-year and month-to-month comparison.

Selling prices also rose in Dorchester and in the Fenway in the year-over-year comparison.

In the month-to-month contrast, Beacon Hill, Downtown and East Boston saw median sale price increases.

The Back Bay/Midtown neighborhood had the highest median selling price – $1.427 million – for a 1,624-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at One Charles.

Condos at Harbor Towers comprised the median sale in January 2011 and 2010 as well as in December 2010. This view of the complex and the Rose Kennedy Greenway is from the $2.35 million penthouse at the Intercontinental.

In January 2010, the median sale price was $1.085 million, which purchased a 1,675-square-foot condo with two bedrooms at the Ritz Tower at 1 Avery St. December’s median sale price was $770,000 for a 1,127-square-foot, two-bedroom condo at 337 Commonwealth Ave.

The South End/Bay Village area had the second highest median selling price at $607,500. That sum acquired a two-bedroom, 1,018-square-foot condo at 150 Worcester St. A year ago, the median selling price was $571,500 for a two-bedroom, 2,150-square-foot triplex with a roof deck at 1 Worcester Square. In December, the median sale was a 981-square-foot, two-bedroom duplex at 18 Melrose St., which sold for $549,000.

Third highest median sale price was in Beacon Hill, where a two-bedroom, 894-square-foot condo at 49 Beacon St. sold for $524,500. That compares to $625,000 a year earlier for the sale of a one-bedroom, 1,020-square-foot unit at 51 Beacon St. In December, the median selling price was $370,000, which purchased a one-bedroom, 635-square-foot condo at 32 Myrtle St.

In Charlestown, the median selling price was $485,000 for a three-bedroom duplex with three bedrooms and 1,527 square feet of living space at 34 Mystic St. A year earlier, the median selling price was $372,000 for a two-bedroom, 1,003-square-foot condo at 99 Pearl St. The 920-square-foot, one-plus-bedroom condo at 22 Monument Square was the median sale in December. That price was $465,000.

The Downtown/Fort Point/Seaport area saw the next highest median selling price of $455,500. That sale was for a one-bedroom, 1,289-square-foot unit at the Dockside at 33 Sleeper St. In January 2010, the median selling price was $535,000 for a home at FP3 on Congress Street, which has one-plus bedrooms and 1,005 square feet of space. In December, the median sale was a one-plus-bedroom, 1,055-square-foot condo at the Allele on Dorchester Avenue.

The Harbor Towers complex on East India Row was the location of the median sale for all three time frames, but the one-bedroom units varied in size. In January, a 750-square-foot unit at 65 East India Row sold for $452,500, compared to $510,000 for an 880-square-foot condo sold a year earlier. December’s median sale of $583,000 was for a 1,215-square-foot unit in the other skyscraper at 65 East India Row.

South Boston’s median selling price exceeded four other neighborhoods. In January, the median sale was at 278 K St. for a three-bedroom, 1,425-square-foot condo. Its price was $386,250. That was higher than the $310,000 selling price for a two-bedroom, 788-square-foot condo at 208-210 West Seventh St. a year earlier. In December, the median sale price was $340,000 for a two-bedroom, 900-square-foot unit at 1 Beckler Ave.

A two-bedroom, 1,003-square-foot residence at 41-45 Montebello Road that sold for $295,000 was the median sale in January in Jamaica Plain, compared to a three-bedroom condo at 16 Meehan St. with 1,220 square feet of living space that sold for $358,000 a year earlier. December’s median selling price was $296,500 for a two-bedroom, 1,054-square-foot unit at 78 Forest Hills St.

In the Fenway, an 827-square-foot garden-level unit with one bedroom at 63 Park Dr. that sold for $286,000 was the median sale in January. A year earlier, the median price was $185,000, which purchased a 319-square-foot studio at 1091 Boylston St. December’s median selling price was $477,000 for a two-plus-bedroom, 1,060-square-foot condo at Audubon Park on Miner Street, which was one of several units sold at auction in the fall.

East Boston’s median selling price in January was $218,000 for a two-bedroom, 1,391-square-foot condo at 36 St. Edward Road. A year earlier, the median price was $254,000 for a two-bedroom, 1,082-square-foot condo at 216R Marginal St. December’s median selling price was $200,000, which purchased a two-bedroom, 827-square-foot condo at 182 Cottage St.

Last but not least is Dorchester, where a two-bedroom, 1,030-square-foot condo at 9 Mt. Vernon St. sold for $125,000 in January. A year earlier, the median selling price was $72,000 for a three-bedroom, 1,536-square-foot condo at 36 Whitman St. December’s median was $190,000 for a two-bedroom, 1,005-square-foot condo at 58 Percival St.