House Buying Thread

[skullman80]

Yeah it's awful. You want to buy cause rent is too expensive, but you can't buy cause house prices have shot up and everything is going for well over asking.

It's an awful situation for the younger generation to be in, plus being saddled with debt on top of it in most cases.

[robbiestoupe]

My first job out of college was in 1999. My salary has tripled since then, a little bit more. Where salaries haven't tripled is on the low end. I wonder if anybody makes a "salary" at minimum wage? Because that is where inflation has just not caught up.

[Troy Loney]

Yeah, that's why "starter" home is a thing.

All the people I know that live in 400+K houses are there because they leveraged their first purchase. Gotta go get some sub 200K place somewhere to get equity.

Or you can be lucky and just be cool with your 1500 sf place and not needed 4+ bedrooms and just stay in your starter.

[skullman80]

I don't think "starter" homes are a thing at this point. Most homes under 200k these days are going to be in crappy locations and in pretty bad shape and/or need a lot of work.

10-15 years ago sure you could do that, but not now.

[Troy Loney]

https://www.zillow.com/pittsburgh-pa/?s ... %3Atrue%7D


There's still plenty of real estate on the market for under 200.

[MR25]

A lot of those still need a ton of work. The two places I've been are on that list, but the first had a bunch of water damage and mold in the basement, needed all new kitchen appliances and likely an AC, and needed floor work in more than one spot. 2nd was adjacent to smokers and looked like they hadn't actually cleaned the place (vacuum, scrub, etc) in years.

I know things can't be perfect, but if I'm dropping the kind of money these people want for their place, I don't think I should have to put a ton of work in before I've even stepped foot into the house.

[skullman80]

Yeah and how many of those need lots of work, or are in undesirable areas? I only glanced through the list, but if houses are sitting for any length of times these days its because there is something going on with them.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's certainly not as easy as you make it sound. Especially with interest rates as high as they are now, and people not exactly being flush with cash for down payments etc.

[NTP66]

lol, there is not one single home for sale under $200k in my zip code. The lowest I can find is a single home for $250k (2 bed, 1 bath, 704sf).

[skullman80]

I looked in my zip code specifically and there are like 3 or 4 under 200k, and they are all eyesores or under 1000 sqft. Everything else (29 total results) listed under 200k are just to buy land.

[DigitalGypsy66]

I think I mentioned my brother and his wife are looking to move out of SC, and specifically looked in Pittsburgh in the Fall. They couldn't find anything in their price range that didn't need a ton of work. They have equity and a decent budget, and didn't need to be in a particular school district. So now they are looking near his wife's family in Ann Arbor (ironically, she and her whole family are MSU alums). Much better market there.

Our house in O'Hara came on the market a couple of weeks ago, by the same couple that bought it in 1990. My parents sold it for $265K and it was listed at $585K. Under contract before my brother could jump on it. Not a bad rate of return tbh.

[Troy Loney]

A lot of those still need a ton of work. The two places I've been are on that list, but the first had a bunch of water damage and mold in the basement, needed all new kitchen appliances and likely an AC, and needed floor work in more than one spot. 2nd was adjacent to smokers and looked like they hadn't actually cleaned the place (vacuum, scrub, etc) in years.

I know things can't be perfect, but if I'm dropping the kind of money these people want for their place, I don't think I should have to put a ton of work in before I've even stepped foot into the house.

No doubt.

I guess "starter" can mean a lot of different things here.

But basically, you are going to have to compromise and you're going to have to compare location versus refurbishing costs.

Also, just be patient, you'll have your price points and things might move down, and new houses will come on the market. But mostly, unless you have money, you are likely compromising on both your preferred location and the house. Or you could marry up real quick and get another income.

[Troy Loney]

I looked in my zip code specifically and there are like 3 or 4 under 200k, and they are all eyesores or under 1000 sqft. Everything else (29 total results) listed under 200k are just to buy land.

I am not sure how this proves anything. Let's not act like you can't get a house in Pittsburgh for under 200K. It's different, that's for sure. Where you used to have to go to Dormont in the south hills, now you have to go to Beechview. But neighborhood profiles change as the price points flow down.

[skullman80]

I looked in my zip code specifically and there are like 3 or 4 under 200k, and they are all eyesores or under 1000 sqft. Everything else (29 total results) listed under 200k are just to buy land.

I am not sure how this proves anything. Let's not act like you can't get a house in Pittsburgh for under 200K. It's different, that's for sure. Where you used to have to go to Dormont in the south hills, now you have to go to Beechview. But neighborhood profiles change as the price points flow down.

I live in Monroeville so it's not like I live in some swaggy part of PA or even Allegheny county, I'm just saying in general if you are dropping under 200k you are getting a house that either needs a crap ton of work, is in a not so desirable area, or is super tiny which won't work for most people who want to have families.

[skullman80]

To add on to that a bit, most people who are buying a sub 200k house aren't going to have the money to do all the repairs that are needed anyways. That 200k purchase is going to tap them out cause of a down payment and closing costs and other things. So now they have a house that needs a ton of work and they can't do any of it anyways.

[Troy Loney]

That's insane.

The average home price in pittsburgh is just over 200K. So basically half the houses in the area are flips or in the ghetto?

We can't act like being priced out of new construction or hip neighborhoods means home ownership is unattainable.

[Morkle]

If you don't love the city, you're likely going to have a bad time finding a house surrounding the city in certain parts.

Our first house in Shaler was 99K like 15 years ago. It was our starter home, and we were making something like 70K Combined. It was ROUGH. Zillow now lists it for 200+ for a 2 bedroom house lmao.

Now, in those same areas, you're seeing like near 200K for trash most of the time, or the neighborhood sucks.

You want a decent townhome in Ross/North Hills area? Get ready to pay like 275K+.

The real estate north of the city is absurd. I've been on the hunt for 4 bedroom homes, and I'm looking all the way up into freaking Evan's city because there's no house even under 400K that doesn't need substantial renovations.

[Troy Loney]

If you don't love the city, you're likely going to have a bad time finding a house surrounding the city in certain parts.

Our first house in Shaler was 99K like 15 years ago. It was our starter home, and we were making something like 70K Combined. It was ROUGH.

Now, in those same areas, you're seeing like near 200K for trash most of the time, or the neighborhood sucks.

You want a decent townhome in Ross/North Hills area? Get ready to pay like 275K+.

The real estate north of the city is absurd. I've been on the hunt for 4 bedroom homes, and I'm looking all the way up into freaking Evan's city because there's no house even under 400K that doesn't need substantial renovations.

Yeah, I mean that's the rub right? There is housing stock in Pittsburgh, you just got to go places like Bellvue, Shaler, Churchill, and Brookline if you want a decent place for an acceptable price.

[skullman80]

If you don't love the city, you're likely going to have a bad time finding a house surrounding the city in certain parts.

Our first house in Shaler was 99K like 15 years ago. It was our starter home, and we were making something like 70K Combined. It was ROUGH.

Now, in those same areas, you're seeing like near 200K for trash most of the time, or the neighborhood sucks.

You want a decent townhome in Ross/North Hills area? Get ready to pay like 275K+.

The real estate north of the city is absurd. I've been on the hunt for 4 bedroom homes, and I'm looking all the way up into freaking Evan's city because there's no house even under 400K that doesn't need substantial renovations.

Yeah, I mean that's the rub right? There is housing stock in Pittsburgh, you just got to go places like Bellvue, Shaler, Churchill, and Brookline if you want a decent place for an acceptable price.

If you are a family though why would you want to live in any of those places? The schools suck, and the taxes are high (at least in Churchill). Even if you wanted to resell in 10 years you limit your buying pool because of the school district and the area you are in.

Also I'd argue even as a single person paying 175k for a beat up house in some of those is actually worth it or not. I know the market is what it is, but I'd argue those are acceptable prices for the houses that are up for sale in those areas in reality.

We lived in Wilkins/Turtle Creek before we moved to Monroeville. We sold our house right when Covid was starting and our pool was def limited because the taxes were astronomical and the school district sucked (woodland hills). No family wanted to buy the house if they had kids and send them to crappy schools with high taxes.

[NTP66]

I think the original point was that for home buyers today, you simply aren't going to get the value (price + location) that the rest of us benefited from years ago.

[skullman80]

I think the original point was that for home buyers today, you simply aren't going to get the value (price + location) that the rest of us benefited from years ago.

This is the short answer yes haha.

[Troy Loney]

If you don't love the city, you're likely going to have a bad time finding a house surrounding the city in certain parts.

Our first house in Shaler was 99K like 15 years ago. It was our starter home, and we were making something like 70K Combined. It was ROUGH.

Now, in those same areas, you're seeing like near 200K for trash most of the time, or the neighborhood sucks.

You want a decent townhome in Ross/North Hills area? Get ready to pay like 275K+.

The real estate north of the city is absurd. I've been on the hunt for 4 bedroom homes, and I'm looking all the way up into freaking Evan's city because there's no house even under 400K that doesn't need substantial renovations.

Yeah, I mean that's the rub right? There is housing stock in Pittsburgh, you just got to go places like Bellvue, Shaler, Churchill, and Brookline if you want a decent place for an acceptable price.

If you are a family though why would you want to live in any of those places? The schools suck, and the taxes are high (at least in Churchill). Even if you wanted to resell in 10 years you limit your buying pool because of the school district and the area you are in.

Also I'd argue even as a single person paying 175k for a beat up house in some of those is actually worth it or not. I know the market is what it is, but I'd argue those are acceptable prices for the houses that are up for sale in those areas in reality.

We lived in Wilkins/Turtle Creek before we moved to Monroeville. We sold our house right when Covid was starting and our pool was def limited because the taxes were astronomical and the school district sucked (woodland hills). No family wanted to buy the house if they had kids and send them to crappy schools with high taxes.

The schools don't matter when you are getting a "starter" home. That's the whole point of a starter home.

High property taxes doesn't really mean anything when you're house is < 200K.

Really don't know what to tell you if you think those are bad neighborhoods.

[Troy Loney]

I think the original point was that for home buyers today, you simply aren't going to get the value (price + location) that the rest of us benefited from years ago.

This is the short answer yes haha.

This i agree with, that 200 price point used to probably be 125 10 years ago.

[NTP66]

Source of the post The schools don't matter when you are getting a "starter" home. That's the whole point of a starter home.

I definitely disagree with this, personally.

[skullman80]

If you don't love the city, you're likely going to have a bad time finding a house surrounding the city in certain parts.

Our first house in Shaler was 99K like 15 years ago. It was our starter home, and we were making something like 70K Combined. It was ROUGH.

Now, in those same areas, you're seeing like near 200K for trash most of the time, or the neighborhood sucks.

You want a decent townhome in Ross/North Hills area? Get ready to pay like 275K+.

The real estate north of the city is absurd. I've been on the hunt for 4 bedroom homes, and I'm looking all the way up into freaking Evan's city because there's no house even under 400K that doesn't need substantial renovations.

Yeah, I mean that's the rub right? There is housing stock in Pittsburgh, you just got to go places like Bellvue, Shaler, Churchill, and Brookline if you want a decent place for an acceptable price.

If you are a family though why would you want to live in any of those places? The schools suck, and the taxes are high (at least in Churchill). Even if you wanted to resell in 10 years you limit your buying pool because of the school district and the area you are in.

Also I'd argue even as a single person paying 175k for a beat up house in some of those is actually worth it or not. I know the market is what it is, but I'd argue those are acceptable prices for the houses that are up for sale in those areas in reality.

We lived in Wilkins/Turtle Creek before we moved to Monroeville. We sold our house right when Covid was starting and our pool was def limited because the taxes were astronomical and the school district sucked (woodland hills). No family wanted to buy the house if they had kids and send them to crappy schools with high taxes.

The schools don't matter when you are getting a "starter" home. That's the whole point of a starter home.

High property taxes doesn't really mean anything when you're house is < 200K.

Really don't know what to tell you if you think those are bad neighborhoods.

They aren't bad per se, but property taxes still do matter. Allegheny county is high, some of those school districts are high. You are guaranteed to get reassessed once you buy that house by the school so they will go up. Gateway came after us the year after we bought out house and wanted to basically double our assessment of our house. I had to get a lawyer to fight them and to get them to come down a bit. Our payment only went up around $150 a month, could have been much worse if we couldn't have afforded to hire a lawyer to fight what the school district wanted. Our house didn't cost that much more than 200k (239k in 2020).

I think this magical idea you have of people buying a home and then moving out 10 years later and upgrading just isn't reality anymore. People are buying their first houses much older now and after they already have kids because they didn't have money to buy a house until now. Then they buy at overinflated prices with interest rates at best at 6% or so, probably some much worse because their credit isn't great.

Eventually when things go down (and they will)...you then have little to no equity and even if you did want to "move up" to a nicer home you aren't getting any money out of that "starter" home that you bought 10 years ago.

[MR25]

I think the original point was that for home buyers today, you simply aren't going to get the value (price + location) that the rest of us benefited from years ago.

This is the short answer yes haha.

This i agree with, that 200 price point used to probably be 125 10 years ago.

The house I grew up in and moved out of when I was 8 was sold to the current owners (by my parents) for $190k in 1998.

Zillow's current estimate for the house is like... $450k. Absolutely bonkers. It was a decent house but unless the current owners opened it up a little, the family room, dining room, and living room are all small for that type of money.