Pittsburgh Negative home equity map (McCandless Township, Washington: rentals, countertops, new house)

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by bradjl2009

I guess he thinks Pittsburgh and Detroit aren't too different so if home values are bad there, they must be there too.

I think he knows Detroit is worse than most places, but I don't think he can wrap his head around the idea that Pittsburgh didn't crash at all.

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I think he knows Detroit is worse than most places, but I don't think he can wrap his head around the idea that Pittsburgh didn't crash at all.

This is probably something that a lot of people around the country (even in the local area) have been thinking and they are then stunned to see the data showing the economy isn't recovering but expanding here. Some of then try to dismiss the data somehow though.

[Tallysmom]

Crappity crap.... according to Zillow I'm in the 100% underwater zip.... which I knew.

Even now almost 90% of homes for sale in my zip are foreclosures, the rest are short sales.

My house value su-hucks... don't care too much, house payment is still WAY lower than rent anywhere around here.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

Crappity crap.... according to Zillow I'm in the 100% underwater zip.... which I knew.

That's curious, I can't find any zip codes in the entire country that were worse than 87%.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by ML North

Didn't we observe a similar dynamic is some other type of map? Anyone remember what that was?

Yep, I finally got around to digging it up. Not surprisingly, the negative home equity map lines up almost perfectly with the foreclosure rates map:



(Originally posted here: https://www.city-data.com/forum/pitts...l#post21748997.)

[gg]

That really is a depressing map. I don't think the housing market will come back in many of the areas that were hit the hardest for decades. Our government sure didn't look out for us with deregulation. What a mess. All this in the name of trying to extend some good economy that was all smoke and mirrors. Sad stuff. I feel for those in the areas that got smacked, but it really is a total lack of education to pull so much equity out of your home to "live the high life". Hard lessons are being learned, but what really is upsetting is the people that didn't loan money to themselves with these equity loans have to pay for it.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

My father in Detroit is assembling a little empire of rental properties, mostly through short sales.

Meanwhile, he keeps asking us how much we have lost on our house (I guess my answer isn't credible in his view).

Has he had any trouble finding tenants?

My wife has couple of friends that paid 70,000 for a house in Detroit that is now worth about 20,000. It costs them about 200 a month to rent the place out. Realistically, they won't be able to sell the place for quite some time.

[airwave09]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I think he knows Detroit is worse than most places, but I don't think he can wrap his head around the idea that Pittsburgh didn't crash at all.

It's hard enough for me to wrap my head around it and I've lived here for a while now.

[airwave09]

I was bored and decided to use this map to find the 3 most expensive zip codes by average housing price in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan area using the Zillow home value index.


They are:

1) $409,200 Collier Township 15142 (Allegheny)

2) $319,900 Peters Township 15367 (Washington)

3) $299,200 Adams Township 16046 (Allegheny/Butler)


...and the rest 4-10 (all of which are in Allegheny County except for Cranberry)


4) $275,900 O'hara Township 15238

5) $275,600 McCandless Township 15090

6) $257,800 Bradfordwoods 15805

7) $257,700 Cranberry Township 16066 (Butler Co.)

8) $247,200 Franklin Park 15143

9) $245,300 Upper Saint Clair 15241

10) $244,500 Pittsburgh (Shadyside) 15232


I noticed that this list pretty much goes in order of average age of housing as well, which isn't a coincidence. Newest construction at the top gradually down to the oldest at the bottom.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Has he had any trouble finding tenants?

Apparently not. He is focusing on fundamentally solid places with decent amounts of space, and he does some cosmetic upgrades (apparently granite countertops are a big item on his to-do list). And he's been happy with his tenants so far. I think the key is he isn't trying to work the bottom of the market, and even so he isn't paying much for his places.