Pittsburgh area building too many higher end apartments (Progress, Conway: transplants, house)

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by jea6321

ding ding ding,

pittsburgh isnt going to pop anytime soon. It may flat line in appreciation for a bit, but there wont be some crazy 07-08 type catastrophe here. our appreciation rates are way under the hot markets of the country. Even the east end which has seemed crazy for pittsburgh standards, is still not unsustainable. the hottest pittsburgh neighborhoods have basically doubled in price over the past 10 years. with the laws of compounding interest ( rule of 72 anyone?) means that the average appreciation in these areas over this period would be 7.2% per year. That is a healthy appreciation, but not crazy by any means. During the early 2000's to 07 around the nation, hot markets were averaging over double that, some markets were seeing 20-25% annual appreciation all based on stated income loans. Things are much different today. Lending standards are very tight and loans are very secure.

If anyone is sitting on the sidelines waiting for housing to crash so they can buy at a steep discount, I have a pretty strong feeling you will be waiting around for a long time. but hey, I could be wrong. Time will tell.

plus most of the appreciation was due to homes being rehapped and flipped. pittsburgh didn't even experience a crash in 08.

[Geeo]

I don't think the East End or anywhere else in Pittsburgh is in a bubble. We may not be used to it, though, since the economy stunk in the 80s and 90s and nothing new was built for years. The last ten years brought an increasingly better economy to Pittsburgh, which brought new jobs and new people. We had a shortage of new apartment construction and it's now getting caught up with demand in some parts of town. As for houses, there's an old adage that says "they're not making any more land," so homes in city neighborhoods where people want to live are increasing in value.

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by maxx233

But then the other part of me is terrified of buying here and the market dropping in a few years when everyone's like, "oh yeah... it actually doesn't make sense to be paying these prices for Pittsburgh! Duh."

It's already started. We aren't the only city with ridiculous housing costs.
July Existing Homes Sales Weighed Down by Declining Affordability | Builder Magazine | Existing Home Sales, Housing Data, Housing Trends, Sales Closing, Sales, Index/Indices

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

It's already started. We aren't the only city with ridiculous housing costs.
July Existing Homes Sales Weighed Down by Declining Affordability | Builder Magazine | Existing Home Sales, Housing Data, Housing Trends, Sales Closing, Sales, Index/Indices

"Severely restrained inventory and the tightening grip it’s putting on affordability is the primary culprit for the considerable sales slump throughout much of the country last month," said Laurence Yun, NAR chief economist, in a statement.

this is very true in our market. there is no lack of buyers, just a lack of properties coming on the market.

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by jea6321

ding ding ding,

pittsburgh isnt going to pop anytime soon. It may flat line in appreciation for a bit, but there wont be some crazy 07-08 type catastrophe here.

If anyone is sitting on the sidelines waiting for housing to crash so they can buy at a steep discount, I have a pretty strong feeling you will be waiting around for a long time. but hey, I could be wrong. Time will tell.

I agree - unless the ENTIRE economy crashes like 07/08. We were an anomaly then because we had already crashed. If the US economy goes down in the next 10-20 years, Pgh's housing market will follow because we aren't as much of an outlier as before.

I also agree about sitting on the sidelines, UNLESS you have A LOT of cash. Then it might make sense to hold off for interest rates to rise. When that happens, prices may soften a bit and that will make for some bargains with a cash sale.

If you are looking of buy a house to live in for a while (7+ years) do it now or last year because rates have been supposed to rise for a year or so and likely will not be this low too much longer. Higher rates lowers affordability.

Lock in that great rate now and stay put for a while.

If you are mobile, then renting might be your best option. I recently read an article about how if you are a person who moves often, gets transferred or needs to be able to relocate easily, then you might want to buy an investment property and plan on renting for a while. That way you still own real estate but somebody else pays down your mortgage while you pay somebody else's down.

[sky329]

Has Luxury Apartment Boom Reached Its End In Pittsburgh? « CBS Pittsburgh

Seems like the market is getting over saturated.. I know a few landlords who are having trouble filling nice units at good prices, and I see for rent signs up forever.. Times are changing...

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by sky329

Has Luxury Apartment Boom Reached Its End In Pittsburgh? « CBS Pittsburgh

Seems like the market is getting over saturated.. I know a few landlords who are having trouble filling nice units at good prices, and I see for rent signs up forever.. Times are changing...

Should help some posters here with their rent woes.

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Should help some posters here with their rent woes.

Unless Amazon moves here which would force people like SCR to give up ever living in Pittsburgh long term.

[szug-bot]

I guess better to recognize saturation before its too late and many more get the green light.

This is OK - so now the city has an ample supply of luxury apartments, to satisfy consumers at that level. This makes the city/area more well-rounded, more inclusive of all.

But yeah, after seeing that monstrosity being pieced together on Centre Avenue, I am looking forward to a slow down in the big condo type buildings, at least in the Bloomfield/Shadyside general area.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

Unless Amazon moves here which would force people like SCR to give up ever living in Pittsburgh long term.

Or he gets a good paying job with Amazon and starts talking about how property values are important suddenly...