Pittsburgh Real Estate Blog | Pittsburgh Homes R Us

Ah, September. The kids are back in school, baseball is winding down (mercifully, for the Pirates) and  football is winding up (Go Steelers!), and fall colors are about a month away.

For the Pittsburgh housing market, the changes seem to be a bit more of the same - the area is continuing to experience a downturn in the housing market.

Sales volume is continuing to take a hit. August 2008 sales volume compared to August 2007 is showing drops in most areas.

Here are the numbers:
 

August 2008 Sales Volume vs August 2007
East Allegheny County  -25%
North Allegheny County  -22%
Plum Boro  -30%
Monroeville  -54%
Penn Hills  -48%
Squirrel Hill  +8%
Westmoreland County  -12%
Murrysville  -43%
 

I can certainly attest to the fact that there are fewer buyers out there now than there were a year ago.

However, average sale price for homes are showing some interesting changes in some areas:
 

August 2008 Average Sale Price vs August 2007
East Allegheny County  +11%
North Allegheny County  +12%
Plum Boro  +6%
Monroeville  -26%
Penn Hills  -20%
Squirrel Hill  -18%
Westmoreland County  -10%
Murrysville  -7%
 

(Note: Stats are taken from the West Penn MultiList)
 

It’s difficult and tricky to identify any of these numbers as a trend for the near future.

It’s quite possible that we could see an overall improvement in the market leading up to the Presidential election. That would not be unusual.

Also, with interest rates falling again slightly, we could see things picking up - for a while.

But there are some disturbing reports lurking in the shadows.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the entity that insures bank deposits, will supposedly be raising the insurance premiums they charge memeber banks. So, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see this rise in costs of doing business for banks passed on to consumers in the form of higher rates and/or higher loan fees.

The FDIC is scheduled to implement this change in October - but again, we may not see the effects of this until after the election.

And with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae still on the ropes, and more banks in the same precarious position …

Personally, I do not see the policies of either the Democrats or Republicans being a cause for much optimism in the long term.

Then again, I’m still waiting for my crystal ball to arrive in the mail.

Pittsburgh remains one of the better housing markets in the country. That may not be saying much right now, but at least it’s saying something positive.

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