Unlike OTHER markets, Pittsburgh housing market is S-T-A-B-L-E !!!! (York, Washington: for sale, real estate market)

[londonbarcelona]

Pittsburgh housing market considered one of the few stable ones.

"FORTUNE's on-the-ground reporting - in what up to now have been some of the nation's hottest areas - paints a very different picture: Contracts are being canceled, deals are drying up, prices are starting to drop. The psychology is shifting even as thousands of new homes and condos join the for-sale listings each day - so the downward pressure will only get worse.

Take a deep breath. We're not forecasting a nationwide housing collapse. For one thing, the vast expanse of America between the coasts was never touched by real estate mania and is in no danger of a meltdown. And even some overheated markets - including Manhattan, Los Angeles and California's Orange County - are still simmering.

But things are suddenly looking very chilly indeed in four coastal cities - Boston, Washington, Miami and San Diego - as well as three Western boomtowns: Phoenix, Las Vegas and Sacramento. So far this year, monthly sales have fallen 11 percent to 25 percent in Miami, Boston, northern Virginia and San Diego, according to local housing experts.

The prognosis is even worse in Phoenix, where only 4,500 homes sold in the first three months of 2006, vs. 6,100 for the same period last year, and in Sacramento, where new-home sales plunged 57 percent in the first quarter (compared with the first quarter of 2005). In California it now takes six months to sell a house, twice as long as a year ago. (See a slideshow of home prices in all the troubled areas.)
But there's another possibility. For the past few years the housing boom has driven the economy, adding jobs in construction, remodeling, and real estate services. And consumers gorged on the equity in their homes, taking out a total of $2 trillion via loans, refinancings, and sales over the past five years.

Those powerful stimulants, which added a full point to annual GDP growth, will soon vanish. If corporate spending or some other force doesn't come along to pick up the slack, we could go into a recession that would cut income growth to zero. Then inflated housing prices would have to shoulder the entire, wrenching adjustment, falling 30 percent or more over several years. "

THIS WILL NOT AFFECT PITTSBURGH! WE HAVE A STABLE MARKET!

Is Pittsburgh the next boomtown? Probably not. Although the city has lost a tiny bit of population, mostly due to old age deaths, the population remains fairly stable.

Pittsburgh does not need to grow into a huge city in order to be considered "successful." Stable growth is better and makes for a higher quality of life.

I grew up in Buffalo, New York (which, was a wonderful place to grow up by the way.) and I have lived half my life on the west coast. I currently live in Scottsdale, (Phoenix) Arizona part of the year. I have seen what a city looks like when it implodes (Buffalo) and what one looks like when it explodes (Phoenix).

Neither is a great thing for a city. Unless it has a projected growth plan and can keep up with the growth - which, Phoenix has not been able to do, it will ultimately fail even though the original outlook seemed bright. Phoenix's schools are terrible, there are few universities - all of which are poorly rated, very little recreation for families, housing is too expensive now for the average person - unless they want to commute an hour and a half, the pollution is killing people, and since the quality of life in not very good, the city cannot attract major companies to the area which in turn has caused a major "brain-drain" and flight of the educated. And you thought that only happened in the rustbelt cities.
The crime is off the charts. Unless you are wealthy and can afford to live in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or Fountain Hills, you will most likely become a victim of crime. What has happened here is amazing! It went from this wonderful place to an area that has a very dirty underbelly and is quickly slipping down the drain. Our houses and shopping malls may be new, but no one can afford to live a decent life here anymore. It's shocking to see how quickly this area has fallen apart.

When we first moved to Phoenix, is was a sweet, casual place with lots of potential and seemed to be chugging along just fine. Then about 10 years ago, growth (construction) became the number one and only major industry and things just exploded. Unfortunately, it has not been a good thing for the majority of the population. If I could not afford to live where I do, I would move out of Phoenix immediately.

In a nutshell, I guess what I am saying is, growth can be a good thing, but unmanaged growth can be the death of a city.

Pittsburgh will probably not be the next "boomtown" and thank goodness for that! If the city can carry on as it has, and continue to bring more jobs to the area, it will remain a fantastic place to live. Some people think warm winters are the thing of the future, but with the cycle that the Earth is in, it doesn't look like it will cool down anytime soon. What many people don't realize is that many areas of the United States are SO HOT that everyone has to remain indoors for long periods of time because of the high temperatures! You can put a coat on and take a walk if it's cold out, but walking around nude in the dead of summer is STILL not going to help in places like, S. California, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vega, south Florida. LOL

Appreciate what you have in Pittsburgh.
KEEP YOUR CITY CLEAN. Yes, the infrastructure sucks, it always will because of the nature and age of the city. It's built on a beautiful hilly terrain and amongst three rivers!
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that roads that were built years ago are not going to be in the best shape. It's a give and take situation. You have to put up with some cold icy weather once in a while and deal with some big potholes. But, on the other hand, you have weather that is not all that horrible, beautiful terrain, fantastic schools and universities, a stable economy, friendly people, and a rather positive outlook compared to other rustbelt cities.

I rather like Pittsburgh and I feel safe a majority of areas. However, I'd still like to see homes that are falling apart in certain areas of the inner city torn down. Better to have an empty lot with grass than to have a sh*thouse for squatters.

But quit talking about only the bad about the city. If the damn newspapers would try to focus on some of the many positives instead of so much of the negative - which in most cases is completely overblown and way out of perspective, maybe people would begin to take pride in Pittsburgh again besides just their football team....

<-----getting down off of my soapbox

[kpoeppel]

I'd agree that this is one of Pittsburgh's strong points...the avoidance of the housing bubble.

[burghgirl]

Hey, not trying to be difficult, but this article is a year and a half old (dated May 2006). I'd be interested in reading a follow up article with more current data. A lot can change in 18 months. I realize the gist of it is probably still true (real estate markets in most places are bad and Pittsburgh is escaping that cycle), and perhaps even more so than when the article was written.

[lostinpgh]

A basic two-bedroom townhouse in south Tempe was going for ~60K in 1993. Now they're going for ~160K (see zip code 85283 at realtor.com) . A 30% drop would only set them back to around $112K.

Is there anywhere in Pittsburgh where a buyer in 1993 would have seen that sort of equity growth over the same timeframe? I'm genuinely curious; I'd like to buy in that part.

[londonbarcelona]

Originally Posted by burghgirl

Hey, not trying to be difficult, but this article is a year and a half old (dated May 2006). I'd be interested in reading a follow up article with more current data. A lot can change in 18 months. I realize the gist of it is probably still true (real estate markets in most places are bad and Pittsburgh is escaping that cycle), and perhaps even more so than when the article was written.

Good point, I hadn't realized that. I'll see if I can find a more current stat in a bit.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by lostinpgh

A basic two-bedroom townhouse in south Tempe was going for ~60K in 1993. Now they're going for ~160K (see zip code 85283 at realtor.com) . A 30% drop would only set them back to around $112K.

Is there anywhere in Pittsburgh where a buyer in 1993 would have seen that sort of equity growth over the same timeframe? I'm genuinely curious; I'd like to buy in that part.

I seriously doubt it. Part of Pittsburgh's "advantage" is that the housing market crashed with everything else in the 80s, and it has taken a while to get back up to speed. I remember going back to visit in 1982; there were boarded up houses in the nice little middle class suburb I grew up in. My mom would tell me this or that house had been for sale for several years. The owners just moved on. My parents bought a house in 1956 for $18K, we sold it in 1997 for about $75K. The house had also been extensively remodeled. I was appalled that there was so little appreciation in 41 years! I am glad things are better now.

[Geeo]

To lostinpgh - yes, there are areas in Pittsburgh where appreciation has been great. I bought my house in Shadyside in 98 for $142, and comparable houses are now selling between $300 and $350. I imagine there are other areas with the same story. All depends in what area and who's looking to buy. In Shadyside, they can't build many more single houses because there's no more land. New developments seem to be in mid-rise condo towers, and even those are pretty expensive.

[gswpa]

Londonbarcelona - I guess you don't work in real estate or know anyone who does. That article is old. The Pittsburgh market has slowed down.

[subdivisions]

Originally Posted by gswpa

Londonbarcelona - I guess you don't work in real estate or know anyone who does. That article is old. The Pittsburgh market has slowed down.

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.

[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.