Pittsburgh revealed as most affordable city to buy a home (Ross Township: houses, neighborhoods)

[gg]

Originally Posted by Merge

Simply not true. Both Sharpsburg and Blawnox offer home ownership opportunities for families with this amount of income.

They are in the Fox Chapel School District. Selltheburgh, stated "Fox Chapel", with the highest average income of any Borough in the state. Of course if I moved out, it might be the highest in the country.

[gg]

Originally Posted by frankievalley1

Hence the reason the city, county and local governments are cash strapped. How much can you take from people that don't make much to begin with? When wages are that low your services, schools and infrastructure suffer because the tax revenue is not there to pay for it.

100% correct! People don't want gentrification because it displaces poorer people, but that is what needs to happen if you want a city to do well. Pittsburgh needs all the money it can get and bringing in more wealthy people is the answer.

[bumpintheroad]

Originally Posted by gg

100% correct! People don't want gentrification because it displaces poorer people, but that is what needs to happen if you want a city to do well. Pittsburgh needs all the money it can get and bringing in more wealthy people is the answer.

I am on the same page as you on this one. It's important to have economic diversity.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by gg

The bottom line is the reason Pittsburgh gets these silly "most affordable" is because the city limits are FILLED with poverty. That makes it out to be like you can buy a home for $80K all over the place. Hardly. Then the taxes on top of it all, Pittsburgh isn't all the affordable to other small cities. You can't compare Pittsburgh to NYC. We are a town in comparison and you might as well compare Titusville to Pittsburgh if you want to stretch this stuff.

Again, as I posted upthread, the percentage of people in poverty in Pittsburgh is slightly lower in Pittsburgh than in NYC. I also know the earnings gap between the city and suburbs is much, much lower in Pittsburgh than most (possibly all) of our rust-belt peers. It's simply not true that Pittsburgh has more poverty within city limits than most cities. It has less.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by Goodjules

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I moved from the most expensive metro area, San Francisco to Pittsburgh a little over two years ago. Just saw this today. It's a funny comparison of home prices in SF and castles in Europe: 5 Castles That Are Cheaper Than An Apartment In San Francisco – UpOut Blog

A very clear example of why I moved to Pittsburgh!

You should show your friends in SF 100 Watkins Avenue in Bellevue. Even I'm surprised by the price.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by ferraris

You should show your friends in SF 100 Watkins Avenue in Bellevue. Even I'm surprised by the price.

I think someone posted this in another thread. It's stunning. And cheap, even by Pittsburgh standards. That price would get you a studio condo in the less expensive outer burbs in the Bay Area.

[gortonator]

Originally Posted by Goodjules

I think someone posted this in another thread. It's stunning. And cheap, even by Pittsburgh standards. That price would get you a studio condo in the less expensive outer burbs in the Bay Area.

That house is amazing. Puts a lot of things in perspective about Pgh property market.

I only know Bellevue through riding around it - is it a desirable neighborhood? Looks pretty decent passing through.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by gortonator

That house is amazing. Puts a lot of things in perspective about Pgh property market.

I only know Bellevue through riding around it - is it a desirable neighborhood? Looks pretty decent passing through.

I wanted to buy in Bellevue because it has the great old houses that I love and has Lincoln Ave for shopping within walking distance. However, at the time I was looking there was nothing on the market that met my needs. I guess there are less desirable parts of Bellevue, but everywhere I looked was nice and seemed very safe. Personally, I think you get a lot of bang for your buck there. I think it has the potential to be the next "hot" neighborhood.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by gortonator

That house is amazing. Puts a lot of things in perspective about Pgh property market.

I only know Bellevue through riding around it - is it a desirable neighborhood? Looks pretty decent passing through.

Bellevue is fine, but it's not highly sought after so that certainly plays into the price. It's close to downtown, has decent transit, and has a fairly robust and walkable business district so long as you don't want to drink. There's definitely more working class people than in your stereotypical "suburb", but crime and blight aren't really an issue.

It's definitely not on the short list for people in the half million dollar price range though, so the buyer would be a big fish in a little pond. Also the section of Brighton that it's on the corner with is a pretty unattractive narrow curved hill. The small size of the lot and closeness to neighbors probably plays a factor too.

[Lobick]

Originally Posted by gg

100% correct! People don't want gentrification because it displaces poorer people, but that is what needs to happen if you want a city to do well. Pittsburgh needs all the money it can get and bringing in more wealthy people is the answer.

When you actually look at it there's very little evidence that "gentrification" leads to large numbers of displacements:

The gentrification myth: It’s rare and not as bad for the poor as people think.

Exploding the Gentrification Myth: Columbia Prof’s Surprising Findings | Observer

Gentrification and Displacement: Not the Relationship You Might Have Thought | Planetizen: The Urban Planning, Design, and Development Network