Do you think we're seeing a housing bubble? (Pittsburgh, Allentown: apartment, how much)

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by pittsburghaccuweather

If plenty of people can afford to build new then why are new housing construction permits at its lowest in recent memory?

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PITT342BP1FH

Anecdotal, but I know a lot of successful millennials and younger gen-Xers around the country, and not a single one of them has built their own home. It’s a bit of an outdated notion. Not only has the custom McMansion falling out of fashion, but if you were in fewer people can afford to pay their rent or own mortgage while paying for new home that’s being built. Many of those can, think it’s a waste of money.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by gladhands

Anecdotal, but I know a lot of successful millennials and younger gen-Xers around the country, and not a single one of them has built their own home. It’s a bit of an outdated notion. Not only has the custom McMansion falling out of fashion, but if you were in fewer people can afford to pay their rent or own mortgage while paying for new home that’s being built. Many of those can, think it’s a waste of money.

One of my good friends and her husband built their own home in Lancaster County.
Another friend is building her own home with her husband in Cumberland County.
Things are a bit different in that region though - high growth, and new developments abound.

We're all 31.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

One of my good friends and her husband built their own home in Lancaster County.
Another friend is building her own home with her husband in Cumberland County.
Things are a bit different in that region though - high growth, and new developments abound.

We're all 31.

I guess things are different in underdeveloped, rural areas. I have to admit most of the people I know have settled in or around cities.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by pittsburghaccuweather

Eh we will see. Those tariffs aren’t going to help. As soon as people’s wallets hurt it’s over.




Yep exactly. So you buy a 40,000 house in Pittsburgh. It needs another 40,000 in work to make it livable. You are in for 80k. You will never make your money back, because those homes aren’t in desirable neighborhoods. That’s why they sit vacant or people don’t invest in those neighborhoods.

Building new in the Pittsburgh area is very costly and will you get ROI?

High growth areas you get ROI. It is a lot more sketchy here. You have to choose wisely. I saw a poster talking about Elliot. If you buy a 35K house and put 50K into it will you make your money back? Probably not.

If you expect to make money back in less than 5 year span of capital expenditure, you’re either a. in a hot area or b. Delusional. But if you just need a place to live, it’s better than renting to put your capital into a stable investment for a good period of time where you can at least accumulate some wealth.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by pittsburghaccuweather

Yep exactly. So you buy a 40,000 house in Pittsburgh. It needs another 40,000 in work to make it livable. You are in for 80k. You will never make your money back, because those homes aren’t in desirable neighborhoods. That’s why they sit vacant or people don’t invest in those neighborhoods.

Building new in the Pittsburgh area is very costly and will you get ROI?

High growth areas you get ROI. It is a lot more sketchy here. You have to choose wisely. I saw a poster talking about Elliot. If you buy a 35K house and put 50K into it will you make your money back? Probably not.

I'm renovating a house now. It's in an excellent school district. We paid $64k for it a few months ago. A very similar house around the corner that had been renovated sold for $171k last year. We expect to get a decent ROI on our house. You have to do your homework, but I believe Pittsburgh still offers excellent opportunities in real estate. I recently met a guy who lives in Seattle who's investing in Pittsburgh real estate because he likes the ROI he gets here.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by safak

The big difference is past the 350kish houses..you can get the upscale newer construction for 450k what it will cost you 700k+ up in NA or Pine, or really even Hampton(which is just a poor mans Penn Trafford).

I think it's the other way around. In the last year only 6 sales in P-T sold for more than 500K, none over one million. Hampton had 38 closings over 500K with 3 over 1 million.

[pittsburghaccuweather]

Originally Posted by Goodjules

I'm renovating a house now. It's in an excellent school district. We paid $64k for it a few months ago. A very similar house around the corner that had been renovated sold for $171k last year. We expect to get a decent ROI on our house. You have to do your homework, but I believe Pittsburgh still offers excellent opportunities in real estate. I recently met a guy who lives in Seattle who's investing in Pittsburgh real estate because he likes the ROI he gets here.

You are correct but you need to do your research. Cross over from crafton and into the city and you won’t get the same ROI in Sheridan, Elliot or crafton heights. No way you make your money back there. Maybe windgap but that is a stretch and risk.

Crafton is also probably better than Carnegie. It is much better than McKees Rocks, but nowhere near as expensive as thornburg or Roslyn farms. Where you will be paying 300K for a fixer upper

SCR can’t move out of the city limits. He could get value in crafton or Ingram but those neighborhoods right in the city you won’t. It is night and day

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by pittsburghaccuweather

You are correct but you need to do your research. Cross over from crafton and into the city and you won’t get the same ROI in Sheridan, Elliot or crafton heights. No way you make your money back there. Maybe windgap but that is a stretch and risk.

Crafton is also probably better than Carnegie. It is much better than McKees Rocks, but nowhere near as expensive as thornburg or Roslyn farms. Where you will be paying 300K for a fixer upper

SCR can’t move out of the city limits. He could get value in crafton or Ingram but those neighborhoods right in the city you won’t. It is night and day

I live in Crafton, but the home I'm renovating is elsewhere. I'd rather not say where, not in the city, but very close. We also looked at houses in the city limits and liked houses in Brookline and Beechview. Those areas are on our radar for future opportunities.

[PreservationPioneer]

Houses in Crafton Heights, Elliott, Sheraden, etc. can be purchased for lower prices than homes in Crafton, for instance. You can certainly get your money back if you do your due diligence, renovate simply and sensibly, with a strict budget. You start off with a house with good bones, at a low price, and spend only what you need to make it a clean, livable home. It was done in the War Streets long before the neighborhood became trendy, by people who cared about history, and look at it now. Sometimes there are reasons other than profit, not that I ever plan to lose money. Even if I did lose money on my Woods Run house, it's much more satisfying to save a piece of history than to take a trip to Europe or buy a Burberry coat or drive around in a fancy car. I see my old house as a toy, like a vintage car, rather than as an investment.

[Knepper3]

Originally Posted by PreservationPioneer

Houses in Crafton Heights, Elliott, Sheraden, etc. can be purchased for lower prices than homes in Crafton, for instance. You can certainly get your money back if you do your due diligence, renovate simply and sensibly, with a strict budget. You start off with a house with good bones, at a low price, and spend only what you need to make it a clean, livable home. It was done in the War Streets long before the neighborhood became trendy, by people who cared about history, and look at it now. Sometimes there are reasons other than profit, not that I ever plan to lose money. Even if I did lose money on my Woods Run house, it's much more satisfying to save a piece of history than to take a trip to Europe or buy a Burberry coat or drive around in a fancy car. I see my old house as a toy, like a vintage car, rather than as an investment.

True but you have to be much more careful, cheap to start and watch what you put in (don't upgrade) but you still need someone who wants (and can) buy it. To me it's just very speculative and better options elsewhere but if it is to live in long term without resale as an important factor I'd agree.


I also love older homes, I would love to have the $ to just start buying back large areas of homes and renovate a whole area like that.