Oh no! Pittsburgh area ranks high for affordable housing! (Philadelphia: middle-class, sale)

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by trackstar13

Actually this is a good guess and point.

Pittsburgh was among the 29 cities surveyed in 2011, and the results released this month show the median home in the Pittsburgh region was valued at $69,000, compared to $110,000 nationally.
However, the study finds the median price paid for a home built in the last four years settles in at $250,000 in the Pittsburgh region, which is slightly higher than the national median of $235,000.


“The median year built of your housing units was 1955," Bucholtz said. "When you compare that to the national median number of 1974, it’s reasonable to expect that housing quality related variable might show a different picture than the national one."


It's Cheap to Buy a House in Pittsburgh, But Not a New One | 90.5 WESA

While this has a "sort of" stipulation as well. This is pure observation, but still though provoking. Most of the new homes being built are in extremely wealthy communities (ex Peter's Township, Murrysville, Cranberry/Seven Fields, Pine and Richland Townships, etc). Other cities are building new homes everywhere, even in undesirable locations, and they aren't mcmansions.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by _Buster

I would guess that the average house in Pgh is also older and less desirable than the average house in many cities that have higher prices.

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

[gg]

I always get a kick out of this kind of information. The only reason Pittsburgh has a $137K home price is because of the massive blighted neighborhoods that slam the actual median home price. We have a TON of bad areas within the city limits that kill reality. If you want to live in an area not filled with crime, you are going to PAY and pay plenty. Then when you pay, you will get killed with taxes. This area isn't that cheap, unless you don't mind crime and tons of littler.

[steindle]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I always get a kick out of this kind of information. The only reason Pittsburgh has a $137K home price is because of the massive blighted neighborhoods that slam the actual median home price. We have a TON of bad areas within the city limits that kill reality. If you want to live in an area not filled with crime, you are going to PAY and pay plenty. Then when you pay, you will get killed with taxes. This area isn't that cheap, unless you don't mind crime and tons of littler.

O...kay...

... So my dozen or more friends who've bought houses in Bloomfield for $50-100k are... in some sort of constant danger? Buried in litter?

Also, do you think that blighted areas don't exist in every city in the world? And why the weird focus on blighted neighborhoods within the city? Are they somehow doing more to drive down the median than Rankin and Braddock?

[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?

[steindle]

Originally Posted by safak

where do i need to look?

I would start with 5-10 years in the past!

That said, there are still plenty of deals, though they may be moving onto the margins of these neighborhoods. There are still sub-$100k places in Upper Lawrenceville, Morningside, rapidly-gentrifying areas of East Liberty, etc.

Not to mention... TROY HILL, where I know plenty of people who have bought $40-60k houses and who do not feel that their lives are at stake.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I always get a kick out of this kind of information. The only reason Pittsburgh has a $137K home price is because of the massive blighted neighborhoods that slam the actual median home price. We have a TON of bad areas within the city limits that kill reality. If you want to live in an area not filled with crime, you are going to PAY and pay plenty. Then when you pay, you will get killed with taxes. This area isn't that cheap, unless you don't mind crime and tons of littler.

In the case of this article, it's probalby more due to the fact that the median is for the entire metro area, not just the city. You don't have to spend a lot of money in the surrounding counties to have a pretty decent house.

You're also highly exaggerating the need to pay to avoid crime and blight. There's plenty of decent, safe neighborhoods where $137K can get you a house. They aren't trendy, but they exist.

Originally Posted by steindle

O...kay...

... So my dozen or more friends who've bought houses in Bloomfield for $50-100k are... in some sort of constant danger? Buried in litter?

Also, do you think that blighted areas don't exist in every city in the world? And why the weird focus on blighted neighborhoods within the city? Are they somehow doing more to drive down the median than Rankin and Braddock?

There's rarely a sub $100K home listed in Bloomfield these days, let alone a $50K one. Prices were at that point 5 or 10 years ago maybe, but not today. Trulia shows zero homes under $100K right now in Bloomfield once you filter out the bogus realty trac listings. The average listing price is $201K and the median sales price is $150K.

Trulia - Bloomfield Real Estate Overview

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by trackstar13

Don't forget the difference in property taxes associated with a $20,000 increase in purchase price, because this definitely makes a difference in Allegheny County vs. some of the comparison cities.

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.

[zman63]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I always get a kick out of this kind of information. The only reason Pittsburgh has a $137K home price is because of the massive blighted neighborhoods that slam the actual median home price. We have a TON of bad areas within the city limits that kill reality. If you want to live in an area not filled with crime, you are going to PAY and pay plenty. Then when you pay, you will get killed with taxes. This area isn't that cheap, unless you don't mind crime and tons of littler.

Not only the city, but depressed suburbs, rural areas and small towns .

The southern portion and eastern side of the county has detroit like neighborhoods. Anybody ever traveled to clariton, mckeesport, duquesne, north versailes, turtle creek, east pgh, east mckeesport?

How about the wonderful towns in neighboring counties? Beaver falls, aliquippa, new ken city, jeanette, donora, monesson, charleroi, butler city?

[trackstar13]

Originally Posted by speagles84

While this has a "sort of" stipulation as well. This is pure observation, but still though provoking. Most of the new homes being built are in extremely wealthy communities (ex Peter's Township, Murrysville, Cranberry/Seven Fields, Pine and Richland Townships, etc). Other cities are building new homes everywhere, even in undesirable locations, and they aren't mcmansions.

Yes this is also a good point about where the homes are built and it seems to be unusual that most of the new construction in Pittsburgh appears to be confined to wealthy suburbs and exurbs. There are some converted condos and townhomes being built in various areas of the city, but I am not sure if a fully renovated old building somewhere like the Strip District counts as new construction.