Pittsburgh Ranked Top City for 1st Time Home Buyers -Millennials to Overtake Gen X in Home Buying (2015, renting)

[DaisyDaisy]

Zillow is predicting a big year for home buying and ranked Pittsburgh as #1 market for first-time home buyers.

"Pittsburgh is expected to be the best market in the country for first-time homebuyers next year, according to new research by Zillow Inc. Based on a formula that considers income growth and home prices and availability, Pittsburgh was one of three northern metros at the top of list, along with Hartford, Conn., and Chicago. The top five were rounded out by Sunbelt markets hit hard by the housing bust during the Great Recession: Las Vegas and Atlanta."

"Roughly 42 percent of millennials say they want to buy a home in the next one to five years, compared to just 31 percent of Generation X, and by the end of 2015 millennials will become the largest home-buying age group," said Humphries. "The lack of home-buying activity from millennials thus far is decidedly not because this generation isn't interested in homeownership, but instead because younger Americans have been delaying getting married and having children, two key drivers in the decision to buy that first home. As this generation matures, they will become a home-buying force to be reckoned with."

[UKyank]

No, this cant be right; young people here make no money, are swimming in debt & barely surviving....

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by UKyank

No, this cant be right; young people here make no money, are swimming in debt & barely surviving....

This^^^^

Those who believe that though, are those who are in that position themselves.

[AaronPGH]

sarcasm detection system offline

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by AaronPGH

sarcasm detection system offline

Whose is offline, yours? While it's excellent sarcasm, there are many who believe it...and those that do are usually in that position and assume others are, also.

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by UKyank

No, this cant be right; young people here make no money, are swimming in debt & barely surviving....

I'm a millenial. I'm also 31. Shockingly, there is great variance in a group of people that cover 20 years worth of births across an entire nation.

[DoubleStraps]

Millenial, first-time home buyer in 2014 here! Also swimming in debt. Woo! Happy to help Pittsburgh top another list.

[Geeo]

I don't think this is surprising news. Pittsburgh has always been a good place for first-time home buyers. While home prices are certainly appreciating around here, they have yet to reach level of unaffordability in most of the region, except in the most in-demand areas.

True, you can't find a place for $15,000 or $20,000 on the South Side like you could in 1984, but there are many great areas where great houses are available for a reasonable price.

[theta_sigma]

We bought at the height of the bubble (or the Pittsburgh version of the bubble which was really more like a bubblette) and my friends on the West Coast were completely aghast over us buying a completely move-in-ready, recently updated single family home for five-figures. Now, I'll be lucky if we can crack six figures on resale 7 years later, but we didn't buy as an investment. We bought because even with all the associated costs, it was cheaper than renting and nowadays it is WAY cheaper than renting.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by UKyank

No, this cant be right; young people here make no money, are swimming in debt & barely surviving....

And yes, for the record this was sarcasm as per the doom & gloom posters here.

This would also be perfect timing for me as I plan in selling my current house in the spring. Might become a Northsider after 7 years of being a Southsider (can't believe I've been in Pittsburgh that long now).