Will Hazelwood be the next neighborhood to be grentrified? (Pittsburgh: top neighborhoods, houses)

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by eccotecc

Steelcityrising,

I just saw a nice home in Hazelwood on realtor.com. It is a small cottage/craftsman style brick home listed for 89,000. I'm sure you could pick it up for 70,000 or less. It's in the 15207 zip code. Happy Hunting.....

Thanks, but it's already "contingent". The East End is just untouchable anymore, and our moronic developers aren't stepping up to the plate to bring more inventory to the table rapidly enough.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Thanks, but it's already "contingent". The East End is just untouchable anymore, and our moronic developers aren't stepping up to the plate to bring more inventory to the table rapidly enough.

Are you working with a realtor so that you can be on the MLS distributions and find out about listings the same day as everybody else? It won't help you in the trendy east end neighborhoods because you don't have the budget to outbid anybody, but in a place like Hazelwood or Garfield you may able to snatch something up before it is on many people's radars.

Two of the homes I made offers on this year didn't even stick around long enough to be listed on aggregator sites like Trulia. However since I was on the MLS distribution list I was at least able to find out about the homes in time to make an offer on them.

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Thanks, but it's already "contingent". The East End is just untouchable anymore, and our moronic developers aren't stepping up to the plate to bring more inventory to the table rapidly enough.

Geesh, sorry !!!!

I just never think of property in Hazelwood moving that fast.

[BrianTH]

I for one blame our moronic buyers/renters for wanting to buy/rent new units in the East End faster than developers can bring them to market.

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I for one blame our moronic buyers/renters for wanting to buy/rent new units in the East End faster than developers can bring them to market.

Brian,

Is there land available in the east end to develop tracks of single family homes?

I realize we've already discussed the uptown area, but what areas are available for developing entry level homes?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by eccotecc

Is there land available in the east end to develop tracks of single family homes?

As an aside, I was being sarcastic (SCR likes to find whole groups of people to blame and hate for any of his personal troubles, but the truth is that development in Pittsburgh got derailed by the financial crisis, and it makes no sense to call developers "moronic" for cancelling or delaying projects that couldn't get financing).

But to answer your question: here and there, particularly in transitional areas like the Hill, and brownfields like Summerset at Frick Park (which still has more phases to come) or the Hazelwood LTV (to make this discussion actually somewhat topical in this thread). There is also ongoing infill of rowhouses and such in places like Lawrenceville.

However, the fact is that even with a better financing climate, I think it is a good bet for the indefinite future that most of the new market-rate units in the East End are either going to be in multi-unit buildings, or will be way outside of SCR's budget, or both--and that includes the Hazelwood LTV for that matter. As we have discussed before, that is because when you combine construction costs with the growing potential demand among higher-income households for East End locations, that is where the best margins can be found.

Which in turn is why SCR either has to look elsewhere, or maybe build his own place. Because if he keeps waiting for a developer to build a bunch of low-budget places on spec in the East End, he is probably going to be waiting a very, very long time.

[stburr91]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I for one blame our moronic buyers/renters for wanting to buy/rent new units in the East End faster than developers can bring them to market.

Yep, the woes of buyers and renters in the East End are completely self-inflicted.

We can't blame developers for the lack of infill opportunities in the East End, or for the reluctance of lender to finance new construction in Pittsburgh. It's time for people to start expanding their search.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by stburr91

Yep, the woes of buyers and renters in the East End are completely self-inflicted.

We can't blame developers for the lack of infill opportunities in the East End, or for the reluctance of lender to finance new construction in Pittsburgh. It's time for people to start expanding their search.

Self-inflicted is an oddly accusatory way of looking at it. It's simply supply and demand playing out as should be expected. While there are certainly people that want East End neighborhoods for the status, others (such as myself and SCR*) want it for their lifestyle choices. There really isn't anywhere outside of the East End (or equally expensive south side) where someone can walk to Oakland or have a 10 minute bus ride while still living in a walkable area. Downtown employees are a bit more lucky, with several walkable towns/neighborhoods having easy transit access to downtown. If I want to have a minimally car dependent lifestyle I either have to stop working in Oakland, deal with metely semi-reliable public transit involving transfers, or find a place in the East End.

*Note, I usually wouldn't speak for someone else, but you've made your reasons for wanting an East End home abundantly clear on this forum.

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

As an aside, I was being sarcastic (SCR likes to find whole groups of people to blame and hate for any of his personal troubles, but the truth is that development in Pittsburgh got derailed by the financial crisis, and it makes no sense to call developers "moronic" for cancelling or delaying projects that couldn't get financing).

But to answer your question: here and there, particularly in transitional areas like the Hill, and brownfields like Summerset at Frick Park (which still has more phases to come) or the Hazelwood LTV (to make this discussion actually somewhat topical in this thread). There is also ongoing infill of rowhouses and such in places like Lawrenceville.

However, the fact is that even with a better financing climate, I think it is a good bet for the indefinite future that most of the new market-rate units in the East End are either going to be in multi-unit buildings, or will be way outside of SCR's budget, or both--and that includes the Hazelwood LTV for that matter. As we have discussed before, that is because when you combine construction costs with the growing potential demand among higher-income households for East End locations, that is where the best margins can be found.

Which in turn is why SCR either has to look elsewhere, or maybe build his own place. Because if he keeps waiting for a developer to build a bunch of low-budget places on spec in the East End, he is probably going to be waiting a very, very long time.

Those are exactly my sentiments. Entry level buyers will need to be quick on the trigger to buy an existing structure in their preferred area if they are ever going to get a shot at owning a home.

Developers will need to build as many units as possible on their property to realize a profit. In Pittsburgh that means going up and not out.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by eccotecc

Those are exactly my sentiments. Entry level buyers will need to be quick on the trigger to buy an existing structure if they are ever going to get a shot at owning a home.

Developers will need to build as many units as possible on their property to realize a profit. In Pittsburgh that means going up and not out.

I don't know if the rush is that drastic. Hazelwood, Lincon-Lemington, Larimer, Homewood, the Hill, and Wilkinsburg are all well located and it will likely be a long time until they are all gentrified (if ever). I'd modify your statement to "to buy an existing structure in an already decent area." I still maintain that Upper Lawrenceville is the only remaining example of a "safe bet neighborhood" in the east end that is still affordable.