There’s a lot of information out there, some good, some bad, some just interesting.

This comes in as “interesting”.

Trulia did a study that purports to show a difference in behaviors of male and female real estate agents.

Supposedly, male real estate agents have more listings than female agents, while female real estate agents list their properties for sale at higher prices.

In Massachusetts, they say, there’s a 23% discrepancy between list prices by male and female real estate agents. Meanwhile, the typical male real estate agents has 5% more listings than your average female real estate agent.

The discrepancy in number of listings is interesting for another reason; nationwide (and, presumably, here in Massachusetts), the number of female real estate agents is higher than the number of male real estate agents.

There’s so many factors at work here, so who knows. Perhaps more women than men are working as part-time agents, so they have fewer listings? Maybe sellers are sexist, and prefer listing with men? Maybe men take on more listings than they should – being either greedy or just short-sighted?

Regarding the higher price – that’s list price, not sales price. Which raises the question – do female real estate agents list properties for higher prices and sell at higher prices, or do their listings have to come down by more than the male real estate agents’ properties in order to sell?

The high-end Boston condominium and single-family homes’ market has remained strong despite this grueling recession.

Using MLSPIN data provided and collected from third-party sources, I see that there were 242 condos and single-family homes sold during the past six months for more than $1 million. Of these, 72 were sold for more than $2 million, and eight for more than $5 million. Four homes sold for more than $8 million. A single-family home at 20 Louisburg Square sold for $11.5 million and a condominium in the Mandarin Oriental at 776 Boylston Street sold for $13.2 million (another sold for $12.2 million).

There are currently 287 homes for sale for more than $1 million. This includes 69 single-family homes and 218 condominiums. Of the 287 homes, 112 are priced at more than $2 million. Twenty-one are listed for more than $5 million. Six are priced at $10 million or more. Currently, there are two single-family homes listed for more than $15 million, This includes a $15.9 million listing at 15 Commonwealth Ave and a $23 million property at 306 Dartmouth Street, the Ames-Webster mansion.

Please contact me for more information on high-end condo and single-family home sales in Boston, to discuss ways in which I can help you as a buyer’s agent, and for advice on listing your high-end home for sale.

Above, 56 Beacon Street, listed at $12,500,000. Jeannemarie Conley of Otis & Ahearn is the listing agent.

A complete list of all single-family and condominium homes with open houses scheduled for the weekend of October 9, 2011.

Please contact me for complete details and to set up private showings.

Above, 327 Commonwealth Ave #3, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts. Tracey Smith of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is the listing agent.

The DNA Lofts is a condominium project on Dorchester Ave in Dorchester.

The developer was only able to sell 15 of its 57 units during the past several years so he decided to hold an auction, which took place last night.

According to a Banker & Tradesman article, 15 of the 28 units that went up for auction were sold. The developer stopped the auction when bids started dropping after the first couple of units were sold (for more than 60% of final auction list prices).

According to B&T, six units were sold post-auction.

The remaining units, which I estimate to be 21 units left for sale, will be listed the traditional way.

For information on individual unit sales prices and for private tours of the DNA Lofts, please contact me.

Jenifer McKim and Rona Fischman at the Boston Globe report on a recent phenomenon.

Generally, about ten percent of real estate transactions are paid with cash. This year, the average in Massachusetts for the first three quarters is forty percent. It is this change that piqued the interest of both the Boston Globe and WBUR.

And, further, WBUR’s Curt Nickisch says:

In some Massachusetts communities, more than half of home sales this year are have been paid with cold hard cash. Those communities include Provincetown, New Bedford and Cambridge.

Many people looking to purchase homes right now are doing so for specific reasons: they have an immediate need to own real estate – either because of a life change or because they need an investment. In Boston, many low-priced condos are purchased by parents for their children to live in while at college. This continues in good economic times as well as bad. As an investment, many people see less risk in real estate than in the stock and bond markets, if their plans are long-term.

Finally, many people buying these days are looking for second (and third) homes. Again, this happens in any economic climate. Percentage-wise, if not in raw numbers, it’s probably gone up, as the overall market sales volume has gone down by as much as 30% in some neighborhoods of Boston and in some cities and towns across the Commonwealth.

While tight credit guidelines might seem to be the reason, my guess is that this isn’t the overwhelming cause of cash buyers.

If you asked someone why he/she bought with cash, he/she would probably reply, “Because I could.”