Condo sales in downtown Boston have remained strong, contradicting what has been happening in other cities and towns in Massachusetts, and across the country.

According to the Globe:

Sales of luxury condominiums in Boston's toniest neighborhoods surged 7.5 percent in the second quarter this year, with prices up as well, according to a report on the city's condo market released yesterday.

Listing Information Network Inc., or Link, yesterday said the median price for condos in the city's downtown neighborhoods, including Back Bay and the South End, rose 4 percent, to $472,750, compared to the second quarter of 2006.

Partly responsible for the increase: simply supply and demand. There are less units on the market for sale today than a year ago. Plus, the sales market was very slow last year, in 2006, so 2007 looks better in comparison.

Crackerjack entrepreneur and real estate agent Anthony Longo was quoted:

Anthony Longo, chief executive of Condodomain.com, was shopping for a condo in the South End this spring, and lost out in three bidding wars before snaring a place. In each case, the rejected offers were either at or above asking price, said Longo, whose website lists high-end condos for sale in 33 metropolitan markets in the United States and Canada, including Boston.

In early April, Longo got a two-bedroom brownstone unit for $630,000 because he made the offer as soon as it came on the market and then gave the seller just a few hours to accept or reject it.

Read on: Amid slump, tony condos in city shine - By Kimberly Blanton, The Boston Globe

Also: Condodomain.com and ANTH|JAMES