By Kathleen Howley, Globe Correspondent, 1/23/1999

Roxbury at a glance Founded: 1630 as a town; annexed to Boston in 1868 Area: 2.5 square miles Population: 55,000 Tax rate: Residential, $13.44; commercial, $37.04 Median house price: $130,000, third quarter 1998 Government: Elected city council and mayor Services: Massachusetts Electric, Boston Gas, city water and sewer Public schools: Nine elementary; four middle; two high schools Private schools: Nativity Preparatory Public transportation: MBTA subway and buses Cultural/recreational: Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Franklin Park Zoo, Roxbury Heritage State Park, Dillaway-Thomas House, Ionic Hall, Roxbury YMCA Family Branch, African Pastoral Center

Two years ago, Elisa Daley of Prudential Gibson Real Estate in the South End had no listings in Roxbury. She mostly sold property in Boston's South End. [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Last year she sold more than 30 Roxbury properties, primarily to South Enders looking for more bang for their buck, she said.

"South End prices are so high it's generated a new interest in Roxbury. If you are looking for history and good architecture, Roxbury has that. You just have to travel a few more blocks," she said.

For example, the last home she sold in Roxbury was bought by two men who were moving from an apartment in the South End, she said. They purchased a single-family in Lower Roxbury, an area of flat-faced brick row houses that was designated a historic district about 18 months ago.

"They're only a few blocks from their old home, and they are paying less now for a single-family than they paid to rent an apartment," Daley said.

In that neighborhood of Roxbury, between Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue, a two-bedroom single-family home with about 1,500 square feet of living space sells for about $130,000, said Daley.

"That gets the attention of people who are being priced out of the South End and Back Bay markets," she said.

Another Roxbury neighborhood attracting the attention of South Enders is the Fort Hill area, she said.

"I've sold several homes on Fort Hill to South Enders. It's a very historic area, and there is a nice park across the street. It has everything their old neighborhood has, and it's just a mile and a half away," Daley said. She estimated that a single-family home selling for $200,000 on Fort Hill would cost more than $600,000 in the South End.

"The same thing that happened to the South End a few years ago is beginning to happen to Roxbury. Values have risen a lot in Roxbury over the past year, but it is still an incredible value," she said.

According to figures from Banker & Tradesman, a real estate and banking industry journal, 19 homes were sold in Roxbury in October 1997, compared with 27 in October 1998 -- a 42 percent increase. The median home sale price rose 52 percent during the third quarter of 1998, compared with the same period in 1997.

And the market looks as if it will continue to be strong, said Daley. In fact, next month 24 units of new construction are coming on the market in the Fort Hill area, she said, ranging in price from $159,000 to $249,000. The homes will have three bedrooms, two baths, and parking. Some will have hardwood floors and fireplaces, Daley said.

In another project, slated to come on the market next month, several buildings in the Fort Hill area are being renovated into a dozen condominiums, selling for $119,000 to $139,000. Most of them are two-bedrooms, said Daley. Also, she lists a six-unit brick apartment building on the back of Fort Hill for $205,000.

Fred Saunders Jr., owner of Century 21 F.C. Saunders Realtors in Mattapan, has been selling real estate in Roxbury since 1971, he said. He said he is not surprised in the jump in values.

"It just keeps going up, but there are lots of reasons for that. Roxbury has some of the best real estate values in the city. It has some of the best architecture and history. And it's in a very convenient location," Saunders said.

Right now, the problem is finding homes to list, he said. Inventory is low, although that could be due to the fact that winter is not the most popular time to sell a house, he said. The only Roxbury property currently listed with his firm is a brick rowhouse on Waverly Street, near Washington Park. It is a single-family that has been converted into a two-family, and is listed at $129,000, Saunders said.

While today it has some of Boston's most affordable homes, that wasn't always the case, said Anthony M. Sammarco, a historian who has written more than two dozen books on Boston neighborhoods.

"It was once the wealthiest of the towns surrounding Boston. Before the Revolution, it was an area of large estates, most of them owned by loyalists who fled Boston when the British withdrew," said Sammarco.

The land was confiscated and sold to the highest bidder, he said. Roxbury was a farming community until the influx of European immigrants in the 1840s swelled its population and turned it into a city. In 1868 it was annexed to Boston.