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I have a home in Penn Hills. Great quiet neighborhood with fantastic neighbors. Very high quality home (told that by inspector, and just about every contractor that has come out to do something). It's a great starter home, and when it's time for me to sell, it will be a fantastic home for the next owner. I've had nothing but great experiences in Penn Hills.
It sounds like you got your value out of it though. You got to live in a nicer house for less money. A single family home in a 'bad' school district is always going to take longer to sell because there's less of a market for it. It's just like how there is less of a market for 1 or 2 bedroom homes. 2.5 weeks probably feels like forever when you want to sell, but it's really not that long since you are looking to get matched up with a very specific sort of buyer (no kids, on a budget, likes something suburban but not too new).
I currently live in Penn Hills off of Hamil road. My home is a Ryan home built in the 1960's. I bought my house as a young professional single in 2009. As a young single you get more bang for your buck in Penn Hills. It really is a great home with great neighbors. I have since got married and have two small children 2 and 3 years old. Currently, I have my home on the market with few people looking at it. It has only been on the market for two and half weeks with little traffic. Recently I had an open house with only two people coming. My home is mostly fully updated with a new roof, deck, driveway, interior doors, and granite counter tops. I know that if this house was in a different area it would sell quickly. I am starting to feel a little discouraged. I had no idea that the housing market in Penn Hills was so tough. I am looking for a better school district for my kids. Why is the rest of Pittsburgh housing bombing except for Penn Hills? Is anyone else having these same issues?
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Originally Posted by Shannon1616
I think I was attracted to my house for the price. It is a beautiful home and knew that I could not afford the same home in a different area. I knew the school district was crappy. I did not think that I would get married or have children. I really should have given it much more thought before buying in Penn Hills. If I had to do it over I would do it differently for sure. I will have to reevaluate my price if does not sell in another two weeks. Well, I am going to stay positive until I get an offer. Thanks for listening....
Your house has been on the market for two and half weeks and you're concerned because you have had little traffic? I think your expectations are way too high. I had a house in Mt. Lebanon that took around 8 months to sell. It was extremely convenient to the airport and downtown, and in good condition. I know someone who ended up renting their home in the Pine-Richland school district for a few years because they couldn't sell it. My neighbor has had a house in eastern PA that they have been renting for years because of no offers.
-edited to remove my thoughts on this particular listing, not my place to take away the anonymity.
Just look at the comps and when solid, livable houses are selling for half price across the street its going to take luck, or longer to find a buyer if ever. Not many want to be the most expensive house in the neighborhood. Not many are going to pay such an increase over what it sold for not veyr long ago, when the area has been in decline those 5-6 years. Updates are not always going to bring back what you put into them in hard-to-sell markets. Sometimes agents will tell you they can sell your house for a certain price, knowing they are likely going to have to drop it. A lot make it a point to get listings that way because getting your signature is the goal. My guess is he/she is already in your ear about dropping because they knew you would have to.
(no kids, on a budget, likes something suburban but not too new).
This is a good description of my wife and I, and why we just bought our first house in a solid Penn Hills neighborhood. We were originally looking north of the city (our apartment was in Avalon) but were dissatisfied with the lot sizes (wife wants to garden...a lot) and houses were a bit pricier than our budget would allow.
Since we don't plan on having kids, we gave Penn Hills a shot. We found a house that is more awesome than we expected to be able to afford and it came with a double lot, so there's plenty of room to start that garden and then some.
The house was on the market about two-three months. When we made our offer it was "take it or leave it" (we offered the max we could afford) and the sellers accepted. We're aware we may get hit by some tax increases or higher utilities than other places, but even taking that into consideration it still made sense. We use the buses a lot and there is good access to busing around our neighborhood. The houses here are in great shape, and we really couldn't be much happier with what our limited funds got us. And we actually have easier access to amenities than we did back in Avalon. Hopefully this is our forever home since we've no plans to upgrade.
Another thing to keep in mind is how wacky the weather has been. I imagine realtors are hating this weather because so many folks aren't going to bother going out when it's cold/wet/snowing. Of course, deal hunters like my wife and I went home shopping in Dec/Jan, so it wouldn't bother us. There should be improvement in turnout once it warms a little, just be willing to negotiate with the buyer. They are probably aspirant deal-seekers like you were once.
I currently live in Penn Hills off of Hamil road. My home is a Ryan home built in the 1960's. I bought my house as a young professional single in 2009. As a young single you get more bang for your buck in Penn Hills. It really is a great home with great neighbors. I have since got married and have two small children 2 and 3 years old. Currently, I have my home on the market with few people looking at it. It has only been on the market for two and half weeks with little traffic. Recently I had an open house with only two people coming. My home is mostly fully updated with a new roof, deck, driveway, interior doors, and granite counter tops. I know that if this house was in a different area it would sell quickly. I am starting to feel a little discouraged. I had no idea that the housing market in Penn Hills was so tough. I am looking for a better school district for my kids. Why is the rest of Pittsburgh housing bombing except for Penn Hills? Is anyone else having these same issues?
Be patient..... a few weeks isn't a long time in the market. All it takes is a single buyer. If your house is nice enough, it'll come. The reason most of us stayed away from Penn Hills when looking was the school district.
The good news is that the house is in the nicer part of Penn Hills. But it still appears to be overpriced for what it offers and where it's located. If you want to sell it this season, you should consider dropping the price real soon before those who can actually afford a six figure house in that neighborhood (and really want to move there) spend their money elsewhere. Ask about 5-10k over what you paid for it in 2009 and you have a small chance. You can't really expect an appreciation there.
The only reasonable way to buy a house in Penn Hills these days is at a massive discount. That way, in case you ever wanted to sell it, the hit is not going to be so painful. Luckily, there are more than enough very motivated sellers in Penn Hills currently.
Overall, the issue with Penn Hills remains not just limited to the failing school district. The sad state of the school district is rather the victim of a much larger problem in the neighborhood.
Oh fond memories of Penn Hills, Joan Dr. Our first house after marriage in early 1960's .. lovely lovely home and my EX wanted to leave for So. Calif. "gold"...and we did, sold the Penn Hills home for like $24K and hit the housing price shock in So. Calif. I've been in So. Calif for over 50 yrs and can't imagine living in any other weather. I have a photo of us standing in front of the PH home with 64 inches of snow. But fond memories, but could never go back.
Born and raised in Trafford, PA and talk about a little community that never went anywhere..but a good place to "watch the grass grow"...old Westinghouse town. So so so so much industry gone.
I have a co-worker who is trying to buy in the area, with a decent maximum price since she is a white collar worker, as is her husband, and everything she is interested in ends up pending before they can bid. They've been trying to find something for a while now. So homes are definitely selling in Penn Hills. Where I am, houses in the neighborhood are selling a hell of a lot quicker than they did when I bought my house.
Friends live up off of leechburg rd. The neighborhood is fine. Quiet.
But what a ****ty round about place to try getting to. Its just so out of the way. It takes a solid 15-20 minutes just to get to any major thoroughfare like 28 or 376. So windy and buried away.
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