From today's Globe:

Boston's condominium market posted a surprisingly weak start of the year as sales in in-town neighborhoods dropped 8 percent in the first quarter of 2007.

The drop in sales was most pronounced in condo buildings along Boston's waterfront, which had 40 fewer sales in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, and in the South End and Fenway neighborhoods, according to Listing Information Network Inc., or Link, which tracks the industry.

Yes, funny how that sort of thing happens when 1) a 90-unit condo development (Folio) opens on the waterfront one year, but not the next; 2) 21 units in a new building close (75 Burbank) and six units in another new building close in the Fenway (Mountfort Place) one year, but not the next; and 3) 32 units in a new building close in the South End (Gateway Terrace) one year, but not the next.

I mean, do newspaper reporters think they can just spout off data without anyone checking it?

Maybe in the old days. No longer.

(*** So, sure, her data is accurate. But starting off her article this way doesn't just report the data, it puts a spin on it: Boston's condominium market posted a surprisingly weak start of the year as sales in in-town neighborhoods dropped 8 percent in the first quarter of 2007. Shame.)

Source: Hub condo sales drop, prices rise - By Kimberly Blanton, The Boston Globe