Apr 19 2008
The Current Pittsburgh Housing Market
With all the talk of the economy in a nose dive and the real estate market hurting, it might be a good idea for me to comment on these issues.
I wish I had a crystal ball to see into the future but I don’t, and I don’t believe very many people do. The government has done fairly well pulling rabbits out of its hat when they need to, but it’s hard to say when their supply of rabbits will run dry.
It’s still a good time to buy real estate in Pittsburgh. While home sales are down and foreclosure rates have risen, property continues to appreciate throughout the area. The Pittsburgh real estate market has been fairly conservative over the years so we have not seen the kinds of problems with over-valuation that other areas in the country (most notably California and Florida) have seen.
Lenders are applying more scrutiny to transactions – a buyer needs more documentation concerning income and financial resources than before, and underwriters are taking a closer look at mortgage loans and taking more time to look at appraisals. If your credit history is strong you should not have a problem securing a loan.
For sellers – well, it’s a buyer’s market. If you need or want to sell, it’s difficult to determine when the market will improve. Most economic pundits are predicting that the current real estate market will remain weak at least through the end of this year and possibly into 2009.
However, if your home is priced right, it should still sell in a reasonable amount of time. The mantra of real estate has been, “Location, location, location.” But price is still the major factor in determining how quickly a property will sell.
Homes that are overpriced or priced at the high end of the valuation range will tend to sit on the market. And the longer a property sits on the market, the more difficult it becomes to sell.
Right now, the absorption rate in Allegheny County and Westmoreland County is averaging around 4 months. This means that there is approximately a 4-month supply of homes on the market – which is still pretty good for sellers.
First quarter sales for 2008 are about 11% lower than what they were for the same period in 2007. But keep in mind that the first quarter of almost every year is slow and the market should pick up as the weather continues to warm.
For some tips on what homeowners can do to attract qualified buyers, read my article on the Localism web site.
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