Guess which major U.S. metropolitan area led in Q1 2011 housing appreciation? (Pittsburgh: houses, depreciation)

[Craziaskowboi]

Surprise! It's Pittsburgh!

The rate was 3.9%, which is significant for one quarter.

[Geeo]

Pretty good showing. The houses that go on the market in my area of the city don't stay on the market very long.

[BrianTH]

Homes seem to be selling more quickly in Regent Square as well.

Anyway, as Chris Briem at Nullspace pointed out, much more of this and we are going to lose our affordability edge.

[squarian]

^^^ Two facing each other on the same corner (Henrietta and East End) sold in a matter of days, within a couple of weeks of each other. Rita's Ice doesn't sell faster on a hot day in July.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by squarian

Rita's Ice doesn't sell faster on a hot day in July.

Mmmmm. Great. Now I'm craving the Swedish Fish flavor. Thanks a lot!

[MathmanMathman]

Bizarre in a way because Pittsburgh's sister city Cleveland took a tumble.

A number of markets have gained modestly since the start of 2011: Pittsburgh 3.9%, Charlotte 3.2%, San Francisco 2.9%, Columbus 2.8%, Houston 2.3%, and Seattle, San Diego and Washington each are up 2.1%. Detroit and Orlando, on the other hand, lead the nation’s major housing markets in price declines in 2011, each having lost more than 4.0% in the last three months. They are followed by Miami at -2.7%, Nashville -2.5%, Cleveland -2.4%, and Baltimore, Phoenix and Tampa each at -2.3%.

And while we know of Detroit's problems, odd pairing, Detroit and Orlando. And DC is up while Baltimore is down? Curiouser and curiouser.

[gameguy56]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Homes seem to be selling more quickly in Regent Square as well.

Anyway, as Chris Briem at Nullspace pointed out, much more of this and we are going to lose our affordability edge.

There is a huge glut of empty homes and vacant lots in Pittsburgh. We have plenty of room

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by gameguy56

There is a huge glut of empty homes and vacant lots in Pittsburgh. We have plenty of room

If we think in terms of Pittsburgh metro, there is plenty of room. Even Braddock could be a bedroom community for Pittsburgh. Although the steel mill might make it less attractive. But if there was a housing crunch in the city, the river valleys could easily take up the overflow. And light rail lines up and down the valleys would make them even more desirable for homes.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

Bizarre in a way because Pittsburgh's sister city Cleveland took a tumble.

Cleveland started significantly higher than Pittsburgh, then took a much bigger hit from the Auto Bust. Same deal with Detroit, even more so.

And while we know of Detroit's problems, odd pairing, Detroit and Orlando.

Although the effects are similar, the Auto Bust areas and the Sun Burnt areas actually followed two different paths to get those results. In the Sun Burnt areas, the bust is directly related to the collapse of the housing/construction bubble, whereas in the Auto Bust areas there was less of a housing bubble, but the sharp contraction of the local economies still triggered big housing depreciation.

And DC is up while Baltimore is down? Curiouser and curiouser.

Generally, the closer to the center of a given metro, the less depreciation. Baltimore had experienced extraordinary appreciation in part because of DC, but it counts as an outlying area from that perspective.

[AaronPGH]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

If we think in terms of Pittsburgh metro, there is plenty of room. Even Braddock could be a bedroom community for Pittsburgh. Although the steel mill might make it less attractive. But if there was a housing crunch in the city, the river valleys could easily take up the overflow. And light rail lines up and down the valleys would make them even more desirable for homes.

The problem is that all of these mill towns like Braddock are extremely disconnected from the city. No matter how many people try to move here here, without adequate and fast transportation connections they'll continue to stay empty. People will continue to cram into the core of the city where quick transit exists. Prices will continue to rise.