some questions about Pittsburgh neighborhoods and relocation (Crafton, Troy: foreclosures, condos)

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by selltheburgh

I beg to differ. Everything from 75k to 700k in the East End is flying off of the market. There are multiple offers on almost everything that comes up for sale that is priced right.

Friends sold their house the first day it was on the market at the listing price. In fact they got two full price offers.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by juliegt

Dormont is better than "not awful." There's a nice little retail area on Potomac. I've tried the bakery and have eaten at the Dor-Stop diner. I didn't realize you could get places for under $100k there. I'd definitely consider Dormont. There was a guy who bought a place in Dormont a few years ago who used to post here. Haven't heard from him in a long time.

I meant not awful in that it offers access to the city core, and it's walkable, so even though it's a suburb it might do it for someone who doesn't want to drive. As a place to live, though, it's certainly not awful either.

Originally Posted by Hopes

Bellevue is another area to consider. It has more businesses than Brighton Heights. It's a dry town. That might or might not be a negative for you. It's on the same bus line so the commute downtown is the same. It's not in the city limits so your local income taxes would be lower.

I think Bellevue is just a little out of his range. There are some fantastic early 20th century foursquares, but only the most run down go for below $100,000 now. Many have been subdivided as well.

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

Yea, its kinda strange... That area excluding Oakhill St (true diamond in the rough) is definitely rough, and is getting worse. Though to my knowledge the baby blue highlighted section & the Marshal-California area were the first areas to be impacted by decline so I guess that's how the negative side of Marshall-Shadeland's proximity to Perry Hilltop & California-Kirkbride comes into play...

There aren't too many cases in Pittsburgh of a neighborhood where half stays stable/gentrifies while the other half continues to decline. This is in part because real estate sites don't break up neighborhoods, so it gets hard to sell in say the nice part of Sheraden due to the reputation of the rough side. So I think ultimately either all of Marshall-Shadeland will recover, or none of it will.

[eschaton]

As to why Pittsburgh is "hot" when it comes to real estate. Note during the recession, we didn't have a dip in real estate prices at all. They just kept steadily rising virtually everywhere outside of some neighborhoods in the process of declining into ghetto status. Even many of the rough neighborhoods, like the Hill District and Garfield, have seen steady appreciation despite not much gentrification, because prices were formerly so depressed.

[The King of Um]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Our economy is that great. I started a thread yesterday posing an article that says Pittsburgh is one of three cities that have fully recovered from the recession. Guess what? NYC isn't one of those cities. Pittsburgh, Knoxville and Dallas.

The recession didn't hit hard here like elsewhere. And our real estate market never tanked like the rest of the country. It has always been a stable market because it doesn't have booms and busts. I wouldn't say the market is hot. I'd say that people are snatching up deals. It's cheaper to own than to rent here. It has always been that way.

Of course it's not Manhattan---the prices aren't high here so it doesn't even make sense to say that. I mean, come on, you couldn't buy a closet in Manhattan for 60k.

It just seems, from reading this forum, several people have mentioned, the kind of house I'm looking for could have been purchased, just a few years ago, for literally half (or even less) of what it costs now. That kind of appreciate scares me. That kind of frustrates me in a way, too. I am a very frugal person, so I don't like paying too much for something--and to think that I could have bought the same house three years ago for $20,000 that now costs $50,000, well, that frustrates me.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Hip Priest

It just seems, from reading this forum, several people have mentioned, the kind of house I'm looking for could have been purchased, just a few years ago, for literally half (or even less) of what it costs now. That kind of appreciate scares me. That kind of frustrates me in a way, too. I am a very frugal person, so I don't like paying too much for something--and to think that I could have bought the same house three years ago for $20,000 that now costs $50,000, well, that frustrates me.

Don't listen to everything you read on the internet. You couldn't buy the same house for 20k 3 years ago.

[The King of Um]

Originally Posted by greg42

LOL You're looking at $60k houses and saying "Why is the real estate market so hot?" Seriously?

It's not like you're looking in the bad neighborhoods. So wondering why you can't get your ideal house at $60k is a little odd. The way you get a better house that cheap is to take a chance on a marginal neighborhood. The way you get closer to your ideal is to take a little mortgage.

The houses in the price range you are thinking of do not even constitute what is typically considered in a hot market. They don't even really register. One thing we do have here though is a tight rental market. So houses in this range could be bought for cash and rented out I suppose.

Well, I know housing is still quite affordable in Pittsburgh and the surrounding cities, I just wish it wouldn't have appreciated so rapidly over the last few years. It would be nice if there were a little "correction" or "pull back," kind of like in the stock market. That way, it would be a buyers' market. However, I don't think the real estate market, at least in Pittsburgh, works that way. From what I've read, it's consistent appreciation.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by Hip Priest

It just seems, from reading this forum, several people have mentioned, the kind of house I'm looking for could have been purchased, just a few years ago, for literally half (or even less) of what it costs now. That kind of appreciate scares me. That kind of frustrates me in a way, too. I am a very frugal person, so I don't like paying too much for something--and to think that I could have bought the same house three years ago for $20,000 that now costs $50,000, well, that frustrates me.

Just think of what is likely to be worth in a few years if you buy now! Another reason why a small mortgage to get the exact house you want is not terribly risky. But, I understand the appeal of not having a mortgage. I would however recommend that you talk to a financial planner to find out the tax benefits/liabilities of having a mortgage vs. not having one. Depending on your tax bracket, having the mortgage interest deduction may be beneficial. I know I'm way out of your comfort zone with this, I just think you should gather all the information you can before absolutely ruling out a mortgage.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by Hip Priest

Well, I know housing is still quite affordable in Pittsburgh and the surrounding cities, I just wish it wouldn't have appreciated so rapidly over the last few years. It would be nice if there were a little "correction" or "pull back," kind of like in the stock market. That way, it would be a buyers' market. However, I don't think the real estate market, at least in Pittsburgh, works that way. From what I've read, it's consistent appreciation.

It still is a buyer's market in most of the less hot neighborhoods. I got my place for well below the asking price in Dec.

[The King of Um]

Originally Posted by juliegt

Just think of what is likely to be worth in a few years if you buy now! Another reason why a small mortgage to get the exact house you want is not terribly risky. But, I understand the appeal of not having a mortgage. I would however recommend that you talk to a financial planner to find out the tax benefits/liabilities of having a mortgage vs. not having one. Depending on your tax bracket, having the mortgage interest deduction may be beneficial. I know I'm way out of your comfort zone with this, I just think you should gather all the information you can before absolutely ruling out a mortgage.

I appreciate your input and thoughtful advice, Julie, but I just can't do a mortgage; I wouldn't feel comfortable with one. Growing up, I lived in my mom's and grandparents' houses. Neither had mortgages. Actually, no one in my family has a mortgage. I wouldn't feel comfortable at night sleeping knowing the roof over my head is owned by the bank. I want to have the piece of mind of actually owning my residence.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Don't listen to everything you read on the internet. You couldn't buy the same house for 20k 3 years ago.

Agreed. I think a lot of the time people assume asking prices are actual sales prices.