Oh no! Pittsburgh area ranks high for affordable housing! (McKeesport: top neighborhood, how much)

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by Katiana

Yes, if you look at the property taxes in Denver you will be quite surprised at the difference. EveKendall can probably afford more house there (here).

Here's a $160,000 house, with a property tax bill of $931 in the city.
2666 S Grove St, Denver, CO 80219 is For Sale - Zillow

Now granted, the house isn't great, but it gives you a comparison.

Yes this is a great example and my property taxes in Minneapolis were also pretty low compared to Pittsburgh, but Minnesota does have a very high income tax. Housing affordability in Pittsburgh is a complicated issue because while the purchase price may be lower than some other metros of similar size, property taxes are a major portion of what people have to budget for when it comes to their overall housing payment. There is also a large portion of the population who would rather pay a higher upfront purchase price in a place like Butler, Beaver, or Washington counties and have lower property taxes when they retire or finish paying the mortgage.

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by UKyank

Yea, sadly there is a chunk of our population that prefers crappy built new construction over better built older homes.

I completely agree with the construction quality of older vs. newer homes, however, as the article pointed out it appears that there may be a maintenance issue with many of these homes in the Pittsburgh metro that is not a nationwide trend. In other words, some of these houses may be priced pretty low because they have deferred maintenance issues and the number of these houses in the Pittsburgh metro may be higher than the national average. I love older homes and I have lived in and renovated a couple older homes and I can appreciate the costs that go into these renovations, even if they are done by the homeowner.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by safak

where are all these people finding such cheap homes? i can't find a single 50k house in bloofield let alone a dozen of them ..

obviously i have no idea how to look. ive been down there, i look on real estate company sites, i look on trulia.
i can't find a single house under 100k (that isn't falsely advertised forclosure anyway) let alone 12 of them for as low as 50k.

now im not saying you are stretching a truth or anything, i just want to know how to find these. ive been looking in bloomfield in particular for over a year now and anything under 100k ive seen is going to double in price to make it habitable.
where do i need to look?

Per West Penn MLS there are 3 homes listed under 100K. 55-94K

[EveKendall]

Originally Posted by safak

I said show me a house..not tell me about one particlar house you supposedly bought sometime in the past . Lets use real listings.
ive done this game before so I know how it ends.

I got a spotless 4 bedroom poolhouse house 2 yrs ago in naples fl for 90k. Lets ignore the hows and whys why dont we

Squirrel Hill Real Estate - 6440 Rosemoor, Squirrel Hill, PA, 15217

Squirrel Hill Real Estate - 2323 Sherbrook Street, Squirrel Hill, PA, 15217

3159 Beechwood Boulevard, Squirrel Hill PA - Trulia

What exactly is the game and how does it end?

[safak]

Originally Posted by EveKendall

What exactly is the game and how does it end?

it apparently ends with crappy townhouses..

exactly my point. what city do you want to move to, would take some time but i can go down the list of top 30 metros and save 2 or 3 of them..find you similiar houses just as cheap (though in some markets i may have a hard time finding ones so old)

[EveKendall]

Originally Posted by safak

it apparently ends with crappy townhouses..

exactly my point. what city do you want to move to, would take some time but i can go down the list of top 30 metros and save 2 or 3 of them..find you similiar houses just as cheap (though in some markets i may have a hard time finding ones so old)

What evidence do you have that these are 'crappy townhouses'? Or are all townhouses 'crappy' in your opinion?
The housing discussions on this forum have been illuminating. For my family and me, neighborhood is #1--living within 10 minutes of both of our jobs, near a bus line, within a few blocks of our children's schools, and being able to walk to shops, restaurants, and cinemas are of utmost importance. We also value older houses and have no desire to live in a 3000 square foot house. I also have no problem with living in an attached or semi-detached house, as long as it fits the previous qualifications.
I also realize that taxes here are higher than many other places, but when I look at neighborhoods equivalent to ours in places like Portland, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Austin (all desirable mid-sized cities with a university or two), or even Philadelphia, we would not pay twice as much for an equivalent house, but 3-4 times more. We might save $150 per month on the taxes but with modest faculty salaries we probably wouldn't qualify (not would we want) a mortgage that is three or four times larger.
Of course some people on this forum are determined to assert that there is NO affordable housing in the city, or at least not anywhere you wouldn't be dodging bullets regularly or end up with children who cannot count to ten.

[safak]

Originally Posted by EveKendall

I also realize that taxes here are higher than many other places, but when I look at neighborhoods equivalent to ours in places like Portland, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Austin (all desirable mid-sized cities with a university or two), or even Philadelphia, we would not pay twice as much for an equivalent house, but 3-4 times more.

Austin?
Seattle?
Minneapolis?
Denver?
Portland?

and those are just the most expensive 5 you could think of. there are literally hundreds of homes that price in those cities.
look im not trying to irritate you, and im sure your going to come back with how much greater south sq. hill is or something..but i looked at the school districts, though denver was rough with so many crappy school.

your linking the cheapest houses you can find and hinting comparable ones are 4x as much. no they aren't. there are dozens and dozens of cheaply priced homes in decent neighborhoods in all those cities. sorry.
much nicer ones are 4x as much maybe. ones in much nicer areas are 4x as much maybe. take your 150k home in south sq. hill and move it up a mile or 2 to squirrel hill, or even into shadyside..


i should start a game, give everyone 3 or 4 cities and 150k..see what you can get.

[okaydorothy]

I feel that in Pittsburgh, you really get value for money. We moved here last year, paid a lot less, got a smaller house, bigger lot, better school, and a decent lifestyle here. We are close to a decent rise city, have done a lot of traveling within this area of the States, and I actually feel safe here.

IN NY, we paid a lot for a bigger house, in a crappy school district, had a very stressful life.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by EveKendall

Maybe Texas, with the exception of Austin. Atlanta is about the same as Pittsburgh, I believe. But Madison, Minneapolis, Chicago, Ann Arbor--all have much more expensive housing.

Parts of Upstate NY are probably on par, but it may be a matter of if you find it desireable and what you are looking for. Here are some from the area I live in: Geddes Real Estate - 217 Walberta Rd, Geddes, NY, 13219

Cazenovia Real Estate - 17 Nelson St, Cazenovia, NY, 13035

Syracuse Real Estate - 516 Brattle Rd, Syracuse, NY, 13203

Camillus Real Estate - 3 Green St, Camillus, NY, 13031

Syracuse Real Estate - 332 Roosevelt Ave, Syracuse, NY, 13210

Salina Real Estate - 705 Balsam St, Salina, NY, 13088

Something to keep in mind is that the taxes listed aren't necessarily what you pay and the 3rd and 5th listing are in an urban SD, but have private options close by. Here's more, if you want to look: RealtyUSA - Property - Property-List

[Devout Urbanist]

Originally Posted by safak

there are literally hundreds of homes that price in those cities.

Not in areas comparable to Squirrel Hill, at least not in Austin. The home you linked to is on the southern fringe of the city in a low-density, car-dependent suburban-style subdivision. It is nothing like Squirrel Hill, which, I think, is Eve's point. In Austin the equivalent to Squirrel Hill would be an area like Hyde Park or Clarksville/Old West Austin. These are walkable, middle-class areas within the city core. They have decent public transit, good public schools, and robust business districts. They are also close to the university and downtown. Needless to say, due to the high demand for housing in Austin and its onerous zoning laws, these areas are insanely expensive.

I have to say, Eve is on the money (pardon the pun) with this one. Pittsburgh is one of the few American cities where you can still buy an attractive, fairly inexpensive home in a nice walkable neighborhood. The low demand and slow population growth have kept wages high and housing costs low. People here do not know how good they have it. I find the complaints about the city's high cost of living amusing -- except for when I go grocery shopping.