Unlike OTHER markets, Pittsburgh housing market is S-T-A-B-L-E !!!! (Mount Lebanon, Lebanon: sale, to rent)

[suzeeq521]

If you are looking for stats on home appreciation, there was a great article in Friday's post-gazette. (I actually read the paper-paper, so I don't have a web link)

But it describe home appreciation in Pittsburgh over the past 10 years - areas where it was the strongest, theories on why, etc.

Contrary to popular belief - Shadyside and Squirrel Hill did not have the highest appreciation (just over 5% each) but the top honors went to South Side (flats & slopes) at over 10% and Lawrenceville at over 8%.

[guylocke]

If you are looking for stats on home appreciation, there was a great article in Friday's post-gazette. (I actually read the paper-paper, so I don't have a web link)

But it describe home appreciation in Pittsburgh over the past 10 years - areas where it was the strongest, theories on why, etc.

Contrary to popular belief - Shadyside and Squirrel Hill did not have the highest appreciation (just over 5% each) but the top honors went to South Side (flats & slopes) at over 10% and Lawrenceville at over 8%.

I posted the article in "happenings in Pittsburgh" last week, which, apparently you don't read.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by guylocke

Overall, the actual total sales of homes in Pittsburgh is down for the year, you're right. However, if you look, homes between the price range of 500k and 1 million dollars are WAY up. That's a fairly significant development, too, if you ask me.

That tends to be the segment that is least affected by market pressures, at least in most places (that's what they say here, anyway).

[guylocke]

That tends to be the segment that is least affected by market pressures, at least in most places

That is surely true because only a tiny fraction of the population in the USA could afford a million dollar home. That doesn't mean it isn't significant for Pittsburgh, because it is!

[AngC]

They say real estate is local, but it's even more true in Pittsburgh. Case in point, I have friends who live in Robinson Twp in a newer Ryan neighborhood. They have several houses that have been on the market for 18+ months. Two of the houses are in foreclosure and bank owned. There has been no appreciation, so people are losing money selling the houses.
They are houses in Mt. Lebanon I've been watching sit for well over a year.
But take a look at Cranberry and and houses are selling quickly. What I noticed this summer is we had far fewer houses on the market in the area. Our neighborhood had 8-10 houses bought and sold the each of previous 2 summers. This summer, we had 4-5. People seem to be staying and putting money into remodels and additions rather than moving.

Regarding appreciation, my friend sold her house in our neighborhood 18 months ago for about $285K. They built it in 1998 for $180K. That's almost 100K in 8 yrs. If they sold it this summer, they would have made another 15-25K.
Everyone who moves here is amazed at what they can afford. I think the areas with the best appreciation are those where the buyers are corporate relos and other newcomers. They really see the value in the market here.
It's not like Cali where your 500K starter house mortgage has risen from $1800 a month to $3500. A $1600 PITI mortgage will buy you a really very nice house in a great school district.

[Seaharbour]

Everything trickles down, and as things get worse, it will affect us all, eventually here, sorry!

[suzeeq521]

You are right, guylocke - I don't often read the Happenings thread.

And even if I did - I'm hardly ever here on weekends and that was from Friday's paper, so I probably would have missed it anyway.

[Seaharbour]

But i do agree, at least in pgh you can get a home for a good price and not have all the hoobray that most other cities must deal with on a daily basis!!!!!!!!!!

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by subdivisions

Pittsburgh avoiding housing market woes

"Pittsburgh Avoiding Housing Market Woes"

SNIP: "Pittsburgh's housing market continues to avoid the nationwide housing drama with steady-but-not-exciting growth, according to two agencies that track local real estate data."

SNIP: "RealSTATs, which includes non-Realtor transactions in its data, said the average price of a home sold in Allegheny County last month was $164,140, compared with $154,391 last year, an increase of (take a guess) -- 6.3 percent."

OR...

Index lists Pittsburgh as least risky housing market - Examiner.com (broken link)

SNIP: "Pittsburgh's housing market remains the least likely of 50 major metropolitan areas nationwide to experience a price decline over the next two years, according to an insurance company index."

I will say that via a Google search I did find a few articles discussing how NEW home sales were down in Pittsburgh this year, as they are in many cities right now. However, it is disingenous to say that Pittsburgh's recent market overall is cooling significantly. I feel secure in saying that Pittsburgh is one of the safer markets to purchase in right now, and in fact you might even make a little money while people in Miami and S. California are losing big bucks.

*Thank you*

[right-here-i-say]

Originally Posted by AngC

They are houses in Mt. Lebanon I've been watching sit for well over a year.

Well, I would have to say Mt. Lebanon is very unique compared to other places. For example, in Mt. Lebanon, the same exact house could range from $100K to $400K based on the location in Mt. Lebanon. This is one of the reasons why most home owners overprice their homes.

Also, they look at similar homes, and there really isn't many similar homes. They sometiems put the price about $100K over what it should be, in hopes that somebody from out of state buys it (Mt Lebanon is usually the 1st place out of state people look) Most new comers to Mt Lebanon are from out of state.

If a house in Mt. Lebanon is somewhat finished and has a master bathroom, it will be sold in 1 day if the price is right. There are people waiting for these to pop up as I write this ready to buy. Problem is, not many have master baths, let alone being 25% finished.

If a house is for sale too long in Mt. Lebanon, I can guarantee that 1 or more of the below would be the reason.

1. It is overpriced
2. It needs totally redone or needs an addition. (some homes have the kitchen in the basement!)
3. Very small kitchen - even with a huge house, the kitchen could be 8x6.
4. Major structural issues - There is a house that has been out there for a year and a half. Our friends looked at it. They had a contractor say it would be $40K to fix the foundation alone.
5. 1 of the 3 bedrooms is less than 9x7 (too small to really be a bedroom)


You really can't compare Mt. Lebanon with any place. I didn't believe that when I started looking for houses, but quickly realized it.