Current Homes For Sale? (Pittsburgh, Butler: rental, mortgage, house prices)

[Knepper3]

It is also the case of multiple offers driving up prices to more than a home is worth, at least for the appraiser. We've had it happen 2 times in the last few sales which prior was very rare. If it doesnt appraise and the seller can't accept that it often falls through. We had 1 split the difference (buyer loved the home and had cash to pay the amount over) and another the seller would not budge so the sale was lost. That for me is one reason I dont worry as much about over paying in a multi offer. Of course you want the lowest price for a client but if they really want a home and end up way overpaying that helps give them the option out if they cant get the loan.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by safak

Out by me inventories were up for a bit, and the prices were still going up, then they just stopped listing about end of march.
Well in the 'school district suburb' areas anyway. Most of the areas around here aren't super quick moving (and not high priced either).

I know up north its insane, wish I lived there.. Every house that comes up i take my one client to see, theres 20 people the first day. And EVERY agent pulls that 'list it wednesday, can't show til saturday' thing up that way too to make it more of a madhouse.

Wish I lived up there..

where up north are you talking?

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by Knepper3

Sorry that is true, also need to consider the price points. Over $300k not as big of a market since not all can afford but if it is a move in ready and priced well it still should not sit too long

I think it varies by location. There are lots of areas with an extremely hot 300k-450k market. Then there are others where 300k is the tip top of that area and those homes just sit. A lot of the north hills and northern suburbs are doing great in that 300+ range. I have found its more the 500+ areas that sit much longer. Especially the late 90's-00's McMansion communities. A lot of those properties are selling at the same price or lower than they did 10 years ago.

[corpgypsy]

Gosh...I long for the days when buying and selling a house was viewed as an equitable transaction. If making an offer on a home became a bidding war I would pull myself out. I believe an offer should be countered and I would refuse to negotiate with myself in a RE transaction; this appears to be the current climate and scenario being manufactured by the industry.

[Knepper3]

It is and I wouldnt want to deal with it either. Problem is some people want to move right now and there are not enough move in ready homes. You have 2 choices, either jump into a bidding war for a home you like/love or skip to the next and likely run into it again until you luck out on one that doesnt have as much interest.


Problem is in this market if a home doesnt have enough interest it is either overpriced to start or likely needs more than average work.

[corpgypsy]

Originally Posted by Knepper3

Sorry that is true, also need to consider the price points. Over $300k not as big of a market since not all can afford but if it is a move in ready and priced well it still should not sit too long

With all due respect Knepper3, I think you may be failing to factor in taxes, in the big picture with the RE industry phrase "priced well" statement. In the area that Okay Dorothy mentioned, South Fayette, the taxes are absolutely absurd. The rapid increase that occurred in that township has dramatically slowed if not stalled resale and new construction sales. Cannot give a home away in Newbury Highlands, even with prices significantly reduced and years on the market.


If I were in the market I might be inclined to wait and see how all the current chaos unfolds. This frenzy in Pittsburgh does not seem as if it could last... taxes what they are, high bidding war prices & wages not keeping up, and interest rates rising. At some point the prices are going to have to fall. If someone wants to sell they cannot change the taxes, they cannot alter the interest rates or a buyers income...home prices perhaps? I think we might be approaching or even in a buyer-seller standoff in some markets/areas/price points.....we'll see what comes next.


There used to be a poster on here who was excellent at giving reasonable arguments and making rational points, but he has been gone for years. CFP something or other. Anyway I am sure he could have explained, what I am trying to articulate, in proper economic terms, whereas I may sound naïve or foolish. Maybe just my instinct, but "things" do not feel or appear "right" in housing, at the moment.

[Knepper3]

Yes Taxes do factor, just speaking in general. There will be some areas that are hard, we had a client looking over near brookline and surrounding area and everything was going very quick, the only place with homes sitting was Brentwood and while she qualified for the home prices that were available the taxes there pushed anything decent out of her budget.

I do agree though, this spring feels like something is off.

[okaydorothy]

Originally Posted by corpgypsy

With all due respect Knepper3, I think you may be failing to factor in taxes, in the big picture with the RE industry phrase "priced well" statement. In the area that Okay Dorothy mentioned, South Fayette, the taxes are absolutely absurd. The rapid increase that occurred in that township has dramatically slowed if not stalled resale and new construction sales. Cannot give a home away in Newbury Highlands, even with prices significantly reduced and years on the market.


If I were in the market I might be inclined to wait and see how all the current chaos unfolds. This frenzy in Pittsburgh does not seem as if it could last... taxes what they are, high bidding war prices & wages not keeping up, and interest rates rising. At some point the prices are going to have to fall. If someone wants to sell they cannot change the taxes, they cannot alter the interest rates or a buyers income...home prices perhaps? I think we might be approaching or even in a buyer-seller standoff in some markets/areas/price points.....we'll see what comes next.


There used to be a poster on here who was excellent at giving reasonable arguments and making rational points, but he has been gone for years. CFP something or other. Anyway I am sure he could have explained, what I am trying to articulate, in proper economic terms, whereas I may sound naïve or foolish. Maybe just my instinct, but "things" do not feel or appear "right" in housing, at the moment.

The other thing here in South Fayette is that they are building lots of new homes. Why would someone pay the same for a brand new home as they would for a resale. One development near me, the three homes for sale are over $400. Then if you drive down battle ridge which is the same school district, there are new Heartland homes which are priced from $380. This area has really changed from when we moved here 6 years ago. Many parents are moving out after high school because of the taxes.

[Knepper3]

Yeah we dont normally go down to SF but it is a nice area. Personally I dont care for new construction unless you are going to design a one of a kind home. Only real reason to pay the same is not waiting on construction and maybe the owner did some upgrades after. We played football there when my son was in middle school, it was an impressive stadium.

[jea6321]

Originally Posted by corpgypsy

If I were in the market I might be inclined to wait and see how all the current chaos unfolds. This frenzy in Pittsburgh does not seem as if it could last... taxes what they are, high bidding war prices & wages not keeping up, and interest rates rising. At some point the prices are going to have to fall. If someone wants to sell they cannot change the taxes, they cannot alter the interest rates or a buyers income...home prices perhaps? I think we might be approaching or even in a buyer-seller standoff in some markets/areas/price points.....we'll see what comes next.

although I see where this thought would be coming from, and also fully agree that at times the current market can feel like its crazy inflated, all you have to do is take a look at other housing markets and realize we ( Pittsburgh) are probably not going to see a drastic fall in housing prices any time soon. We could absolutely see a flat line market or even slight decrease in the coming years but the chance of a full scale crash is very slim. Lending guidelines are extremely tight compared to the past, the amount of cash purchases is at its highest level in a very long time, and the appreciation of our overall market is still one of the lowest compared to most major and peer cities. We still look extremely cheap even in the hottest areas compared to trendy cities.

I do believe that some of the coastal cities are nearing the top though. I tend to lean towards investment property sales to show where we are in a cycle. cities like SF, Seattle, LA, Boston, etc are seeing residential rentals ( single family to 4 units) selling in the range of 2-3% CAP rates. this is a serious red flag that either the prices are getting too high or the rental rates are not high enough. I think most would agree that the rental rates in these areas can't get too much higher without seeing substantial overall higher pay.

Now back to Pittsburgh. residential rentals in our hottest neighborhoods are selling around 6% CAP and most of the city is more like 7-9%. this is still fairly healthy and shows there could be room for further growth.

I think most native Pittsburghers are just suspicious because this is the first bull market we have had in most of our lifetimes.

I obviously have a dog in this fight, so perhaps my vision is a bit skewed. However, I have yet to see any real evidence of Pittsburgh housing prices stalling.