I already regret writing this.

Anyway, for those of you who wanted the data, here are details on +$1 million real estate sales throughout the entire city of Boston, during the years 2004-2007 (data from the Listing Information Network, or LINK, which collects and reports sales in the city, from the Registry of Deeds).

2004 - 393 sales, includes several One Charles, 34 Grandview, 6 Strada234, 9 Channel Center, and 73 Atelier 505(!) sales.
2005 - 421 sales, includes 70 One Charles sales.
2006 - 379 sales, includes 9 360 Newbury and 31 InterContinental sales.
2007 (to date) - 298 sales, includes 7 Macallen building and 26 InterContinental sales.

I don't have much to add about this. As you can see, in 2004 and 2005, a (somewhat) significant number (30% in 2004 and 16% in 2005) of sales were in new developments. However, in 2006 and 2007, 10% of all sales were in new developments.

To me, this means that "+ $1 million sales" aren't an anomaly - 90% of all sales are resales, from the existing stock. They are a significant part of sales volume, unlikely to change, regardless of what gets built.

The fact of the matter is, housing is expensive in Boston. It's a matter of supply and demand. Supply in Boston is constricted. Demand in Boston is fluid - it is affected by people's incomes, salaries, and savings, general economic conditions, and the cost of borrowing, among other things.

I'm pretty happy with the data and information I provide on my blog, and I think I give readers an educated and accurate portrayal of what's happening in the Boston real estate market. In fact, I pride myself on it.

Those who feel that this blog puts too positive a spin on the real estate market should consider spending their valuable time in other places. Might I suggest The Real Estate Cafe, where Bill Wendel has spent years in his quest to bring pessimism to the masses. (A broken clock is accurate at least two times a day ...)

I feel I give a balanced view of things. For example, I'm not sure I've ever read of another real estate agent refer to the National Association of Realtors as "NAMBLA" instead of "NAR" for short. In the same way, I often poke holes in stories I read in the Herald and Globe, because frequently they only tell part of the story.

My goal is to provide information, and to encourage intelligent and interesting conversations about real estate, architecture, affordable and low-income housing, general quality of life issues, living in the City of Boston, living in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the US economy and how it affects us all.

And, just to clarify things, for those of you who have questioned it, I have a pretty full head of hair; thanks for mentioning it.