While the suburban housing market has been showing some signs of softness, sales for condominiums in central Boston, especially luxury condos, continue to be strong, according to an analysis of third-quarter sales by the Listing Information Network, or LINK, which tracks the downtown condo market.
Suburban baby boomers who want to trade in the big house for an urban lifestyle and luxurious amenities are fueling much of this trend, said LINK president Debra Taylor Blair.
"What's selling well are the largest condos at the most expensive prices," Taylor Blair said. "It's remarkable that Boston is doing so well, while the suburbs are a little soft.
"Boston is now equal to New York in the luxury amenities its condos can offer."
In the suburbs, many communities have more homes for sale than they did a year ago.
That's not the case with condos in the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the South End, the Waterfront and the North End, and other city neighborhoods that LINK surveys, Taylor Blair said. (LINK does not track sales for outlying city neighborhoods such as West Roxbury.)
Comparing the Downtown Boston condo market to the suburban housing market is now "like comparing Manhattan to New Jersey," Taylor Blair said.
On Sept. 30, the last day of the third quarter, there were 909 condos on the downtown market, compared with 1,016 on the same day in 2003, LINK reported.
LINK said 1,501 condos were sold in Boston's central neighborhoods during the third quarter, a 25 percent jump in sales over the same period in 2003.
The average third-quarter selling price for a two-bedroom downtown condo was $534,117, up 18 percent from $453,866 for the third-quarter in 2003.
For Greater Boston, in contrast, inventory is rising. MLS Property Information Network Inc. had listings for 7,034 single-family homes and condos on the market on Sept. 30, a 14 percent jump over the same day last year.
Some observers say Boston will face a glut of luxury condos in coming years, but Taylor Blair doesn't buy it.
According to her analysis, central city neighborhoods have been adding about 1,200 units annually, either through construction or through conversions of rental apartments. She expects that pace to stay about the same for the next few years, with demand able to absorb supply.
"There are just a lot of high-net-worth individuals here who see real estate as a safe investment," Taylor Blair said.
Not only are sales for condos priced $1 million or more "firing on all cylinders," said Kevin Ahearn, president of Otis & Ahearn, a brokerage that specializes in city condos, but demand is strong for lower-priced condos from first-time buyers in neighborhoods such as Charlestown.
By Ahearn's count, 333 condos were sold in Charlestown in 2003; this year, sales are on pace to hit about 530, he said.
Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com. 
