Real estate is one of the best investments you can have because they appreciate over time. Pittsburgh Pennsylvania real estate investments can also make you earn a respectable income. If you want to invest in real estate in Pennsylvania, one of the best places to look is in the city of Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is the second most populous city in Pennsylvania with a population of 301,286. Steel-related industries are the reason why this city earned the name “Steel City.” People who are buying their first home should put their money into Pittsburgh Pennsylvania real estate investments.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania housing market trends
Housing market trends | Photo Photo by Giorgio Tomassetti on Unsplash
In Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, real estate investments have an appreciation of 4.73 percent in the last quarter of 2022. This makes the annual rate of appreciation for this year 20.32 percent. According to this year’s forecast, 2022 will bring a great profit margin for real estate investors in Pittsburgh.
Realtor.com finds that the median listing home price in Pittsburgh was $225,000 in January, 1.9% below the asking price. In September, the median listing home price increased to $239,000 and was sold 1.34% below the asking price.
Experts say that sellers have an upper hand when it comes to price negotiations of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania real estate investments. This is because there is a decline in the housing inventory. After all, the demand for houses will outpace the supply. Yet, the case is different in Allegheny County.
Allegheny County is a buyer’s market in Pittsburgh because the supply of homes is more than the demand. The question now that lies is if this state is good for Pittsburgh Pennsylvania real estate investments.
Is Pittsburgh Pennsylvania a good place to invest in real estate?
Real estate investment in Pittsburgh | Photo by Ronnie George on Unsplash
The answer is yes! There are several reasons why Pittsburgh Pennsylvania real estate investments are ideal. Pittsburgh has properties for all types, a stable economy, easy ways to get loans, a great rental market, affordable homes, safety, and property values that are going up.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania has properties for all
In terms of property type, investors will never run out of options for Pittsburgh Pennsylvania real estate investments. The city will never run out of options when it comes to availability. On one end of the street, you’ll see a house fit for a millennial before seeing a home perfect for starting families. The only problem is sometimes, a property needs repairs in Pittsburgh.
There are real estate properties in Pittsburgh that fit a certain style. A real estate investor can invest on multiple properties that fit the same style and price and create an investment portfolio out of there. This way, their real estate investment will cater to a particular market segment.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania’s economy is strong
Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate fell from 4.8% in 2021 to 4.2% in April 2022. This makes it one of the best places in Pennsylvania to buy real estate. Tech, robotics, healthcare, life sciences, financial and business services, and manufacturing are some of the most important business sectors in this city.
Pittsburgh has employment growth and is considered the third market in the US for job growth. Pittsburgh’s strong economy can attract a massive renter pool. As a property owner, you wouldn’t worry about selling or renting your house. Google, Apple, Amazon, Nokia, Facebook, Uber, and Microsoft are among the biggest employers in Pittsburgh.
You wouldn’t worry if your tenants are going to be able to pay rent because most of them likely have a job. But if they can’t pay rent, it won’t take much to have a new renter.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania has easy financing options
If they can’t get traditional loans, Pittsburgh real estate investors can apply for hard money loans and use their property as collateral.
Hard money loans make it possible for first-time investors, self-employed investors, investors with low credit scores, and investors who have had foreclosures in the past to get money to invest in real estate.
One of the ways real estate investors acquire properties is through fixing and flipping old properties. If this is your plan, then you should look for the median listing prices for hard money loans in Pittsburgh. Looking at these prices gives you a better view of the profit margin that you would get from having a loan after repairs before reselling a property.
There is an influx of property in some areas of Pittsburgh. As a real estate investor, you would never run out of properties to flip. What you can do is apply for a loan for multiple properties in Pittsburgh and increase rent to a fee that can cover loan payments.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania has a great rental market
Rent is the landlord’s passive income. Luckily, Pittsburgh has a significant rental market because of its low unemployment rate. Another reason why the rental market is large in Pittsburgh is because of education and job opportunities. The number of colleges and universities alone is more than enough to provide renters for a property. The University of Pittsburgh alone has 30,000 students.
Aside from students, employees from all walks of life make up more than half of the possible renters of real estate properties. Pittsburgh is one of the best cities for renters. Affordability, quality of life, and real estate properties are some of the categories why the city of Pittsburgh received this recognition.
According to Zumper, three-bedroom home in Pittsburgh costs only about $1,650 per month. Compared to other cities in the US, Pittsburgh has one of the cheapest rents. For both landlords and tenants, this is beneficial.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania has affordable real estate
Affordable real estate | Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash
As mentioned earlier, affordable real estate benefits both renters and landlords. This is because renters can have a good quality of life without paying that much. On the other hand, a real estate property in Pittsburgh has the most affordable market according to a report by Demographia International Housing Affordability in 2021.
Despite the increase in property values this year, real estate properties in Pittsburgh are still affordable. The average house in the US costs around $430,000. You only need half to invest in a rental property in Pittsburgh. Real estate in Pittsburgh will mostly appreciate slowly, which means that buying rental properties is more accessible for investors.
Some of the areas with the most affordable real estate in Pittsburgh include North Braddock, Rankin, Tarentum, North Charleroi, and Brookline.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania property values are increasing
In 2023, experts predict that property values in Pittsburgh will have a 16.3% increase. This might be a slow increase, but remember, real estate prices usually just increase prices. And yes, some reports tell that tells about the price drop of some real estate properties in the city.
However, these price drops are more of a green flag than a red one because it means that investors can buy more properties for a cheaper price. And despite these price drops, reports show homes are still selling fast. In 2022, Pittsburgh houses stay on the market for 48 days.
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania is a safe city
Pittsburgh is a safe city. In 2019, this city has been ranked as one of the safest cities to live in the US. The basis for this ranking is a report from realtor.com. This report indicates that crime consistently dropped since the 1990s. When cities are safe, real estate investments are expected to flourish.
Crime can lower property values in an area. By being a safe city, real estate investors won’t have to worry about property prices going down or getting destroyed by crimes. Most neighborhoods in this city are good neighborhoods. This means that investors do not need that much safety research before buying properties.
What to consider when buying a real estate property in Pittsburgh?
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania real estate investments might be affordable, but they come with a price. Yes, the housing is cheap in Pittsburgh compared to other states. However, houses that are usually cheap might need a lot of repair work. And not to mention, there are financing fees and additional costs that come along with buying a real estate investment in Pittsburgh.
Needs repairs | Photo by Nolan Issac on Unsplash
Repairs and paperwork are difficult whether you are buying or selling a real estate property in Pittsburgh. Most people would hire repairs and real estate agents just to finish this grueling process. On the other hand, some sellers sell their properties off-market to dodge these processes, but the quality of the house is not that good.
Are there other options?
If you don’t want to go through the cutthroat process of selling your home, you can always sell your house to Buy Pittsburgh Homes (BPH), LLC. With BPH, you don’t have to pay for closing costs, give commissions, have an appraisal, and pay for repairs. With BPH, we make sure that your properties will be sold in typically 30 days or less without needing to cover repairs. All you have to do is sell your house and we take care of the rest!
