Pittsburgh Homes Daily

That’s the question that one reader was looking for the answer to when s/he came to this site!  I’ve thought about it for a bit and the person could have been looking for an answer to several different questions:

1. Why can’t my real estate agent sell my house?

My answer:  From listening to stories from REALTORs, I gather that they feel that houses usually don’t sell because (1) the seller overpaid when they bought it or has an ego about its current value reflected in the price that the home is on the market, (2) the seller refuses to fix an aspect of the home or has made poor design choices in a remodel/redecoration, or (3) the right buyer just hasn’t come along yet.  Home sellers seem to always blame the fact that their home hasn’t sold on the REALTOR.

2. Why are there so many low priced houses in Pittsburgh?

There are fantastic houses in Pittsburgh.  Some of the best I’ve seen in the country.  But they’re older homes.  They require alot of upkeep.  And taxes on the homes (in Allegheny County) are high.  Some people haven’t been able to keep up with the maintenance of their homes.  There are alot of people in Pittsburgh working on fixing up these homes.  Pittsburgh also has a lot of “lower quality” housing built in order to accommodate those working in the factories.  Homes with no “personality.”  There’s also negative population growth in the region, so that works against the prices of homes.  I also think that part of the problem is that “Pittsburgh” is lumped together in the minds of out-of-town buyers when there are many very nice neighborhoods inside Pittsburgh.  But if you don’t know the difference between Wilkinsburg and Squirrel Hill, it’s all Pittsburgh.

3. Why isn’t my home price appreciating like I hoped it would?

This isn’t a problem unique to Pittsburgh right now, because of  increasing interest rates.  The rise in interest rates means that buyers will face a higher monthly payment on your home than they would have if they had purchased it last year.  This slows the rate of price appreciation.