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Old 10-23-2013, 08:10 PM
 
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The good news is Pittsburgh is 5th in the nation for home affordability behind Detroit. The bad news is we are the 4th lowest in wages only ahead of Miami, Tampa Bay and Detroit.


Pittsburgh ranks in top 5 in home affordability - Pittsburgh Business Times
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Old 10-23-2013, 10:17 PM
 
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Here's a direct link to the study: Interest.com Study: Big city housing less affordable | Interest.com
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Old 10-24-2013, 12:45 AM
 
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That's not bad news. The higher wages don't go very far in high cost of living areas.

The best measure is the percentage of median income needed. Pittsburgh is 11.33%.

Read the link Ferraris provided to put that into perspective. Quote below.

Quote:
San Francisco, for example, has a median income significantly above the national average. But the median home price of $706,300 topped our list.

Even with high salaries, the city fared the worst in our Power Paycheck Rating, with the median income falling nearly 48% short of what is needed to buy a median-priced home.
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Old 10-24-2013, 12:00 PM
 
Location: O'Hara Twp.
4,359 posts, read 7,530,984 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
That's not bad news. The higher wages don't go very far in high cost of living areas.

The best measure is the percentage of median income needed. Pittsburgh is 11.33%.

Read the link Ferraris provided to put that into perspective. Quote below.
One thing to consider is that when a homeowner in San Francisco retires he or she may have a massive amount of equity in their house. So, it might be a wash in the end. We save more and have less equity in a home. And they save less and have more equity in a home. However, I bet that the retired San Francisco resident who retires is better off than a Pittsburgh resident who retires because we (society) does not save nearly enough.
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Old 10-24-2013, 12:45 PM
 
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The only real winners in areas with high home prices is the local government that collects taxes and insurance companies that collect homeowners' insurance premiums.
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Old 10-24-2013, 01:54 PM
 
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Does this include the East end? ;-)
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Old 10-24-2013, 02:00 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by robrobrob View Post
One thing to consider is that when a homeowner in San Francisco retires he or she may have a massive amount of equity in their house. So, it might be a wash in the end. We save more and have less equity in a home. And they save less and have more equity in a home. However, I bet that the retired San Francisco resident who retires is better off than a Pittsburgh resident who retires because we (society) does not save nearly enough.
That's true for people who can afford to buy homes in high income areas if they move to low income areas after they retire. I have a few friends that did that. But the key is our 11.33% is the percentage of median income needed to buy a house in Pittsburgh, and San Franciscan's are "nearly 48% short of what is needed to buy a median-priced home." That means MANY people can't afford to buy homes in San Francisco. They'll have zero equity for retirement. While it might not be huge, most Pittsburgh homeowners will have equity when they retire. Only the people who can afford to buy houses in San Francisco win big. So, it's not really a wash in the end.
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Old 10-25-2013, 08:30 AM
 
Location: O'Hara Twp.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
That's true for people who can afford to buy homes in high income areas if they move to low income areas after they retire. I have a few friends that did that. But the key is our 11.33% is the percentage of median income needed to buy a house in Pittsburgh, and San Franciscan's are "nearly 48% short of what is needed to buy a median-priced home." That means MANY people can't afford to buy homes in San Francisco. They'll have zero equity for retirement. While it might not be huge, most Pittsburgh homeowners will have equity when they retire. Only the people who can afford to buy houses in San Francisco win big. So, it's not really a wash in the end.

You are correct. Certain people here can buy houses and can't in San Francisco. San Francisco is probably the worst example. Many people there instead look elsewhere in the Bay area. A friend moved to Oakland years ago for more space.
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Old 10-25-2013, 10:46 AM
 
Location: Mid-Atlantic
12,526 posts, read 17,546,779 times
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This area is SO affordable. Right now there are a TON of duplexes under 100K. Go FHA, put down 5-7K, use the other side for income, it's not that tough.
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Old 10-25-2013, 11:17 AM
 
Location: ɥbɹnqsʇʇıd
4,599 posts, read 6,719,253 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Copanut View Post
This area is SO affordable. Right now there are a TON of duplexes under 100K. Go FHA, put down 5-7K, use the other side for income, it's not that tough.
Yup, my parents did just that with my family. Sure it was very tight with a family of 4 but we made it work. Now with the power of knowledge that the internet brings it is so much easier to learn how to do DIY jobs.

Although we did have our next door tenant try to kill our family. Long story and obviously not the norm.
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