Modestly priced Boston condos grow rare

You don't have to have population growth to have artificially high real estate prices.In Boston,the middle class is priced out.The Boston Globe has some numbers that aren't pretty for those who can't afford $500,000 properties:

In the first six months of 2005, 1,008 condos sold for $500,000 or less, 34 percent fewer than the 1,348 sold in the first six months of 2004; it was the only price category that experienced lower sales, Otis & Ahearn said. In all price ranges above $500,000, a total of 827 units sold, a 17 percent increase over 707 sales in the first half of 2004.

While the under-$500,000 category remains the largest, it is shrinking and will continue to do so, predicted Kevin Ahearn, the president of Otis & Ahearn. The inventory available under $500,000 is shrinking because, as prices rise, it has become increasingly difficult to build and replace those lower-priced units due to rising land and construction costs.

We'll bet that Austin,Texas gains more population than Boston by the next census.