Jun 25 2008
Pittsburgh Housing Market Update #3
For all of you who love looking at statistics, here’s a summary of Sales Volume and Sales Price for some areas of East Allegheny County. The numbers compare the stats for May 2008 vs May 2007 for single family residences that sold for more than $50,000.
In Allegheny County as a whole, sales volume is down by about 18% compared to May of last year but average home price has increased by about 4.5%. In Westmoreland County, sales volume is down by about 3% and average home price is up 3%.
So, what we’re seeing so far in this area is fewer homes sold but, generally speaking, at higher prices.
Summer is the most active part of the year for buying and selling real estate, so we should have a better indication of how the region is doing from looking at this time period which is yet to hit full swing.
Needless to say, the country is in the midst of an economic crisis - prices continue to rise (due mainly to inflation) and the housing market in many areas continues to suffer the consequences of loose credit and high speculation. Some people who are in the real estate industry are thinking that what we’ve seen so far is only the tip of the iceberg.
One thing that would help the Pittsburgh area right now would be to cut business taxes - Pennsylvania has the second highest business tax rate in the nation and taxes in Allegheny County are also high.
Offering some incentive for businesses to set up shop here would create jobs and an overall healthier economy.
But as long as politicians can get citizens to believe that we can tax our way to prosperity, the chances of getting out of this quagmire any time soon are pretty slim.
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