Pittsburgh Real Estate Podcast with Matt Durbin

In our luxury market here in Pittsburgh ($600,000 to $1.2 million), there are generally three types of homes: new construction homes, pre-owned homes that were built in the 80s and 90s, and older pre-owned homes that need more than just cosmetic updates. If you’re thinking of buying in the luxury market, today I’ll compare the first two types of homes so you can get a good idea of what’s best for you.  Follow along in the video above to see my full analysis. For your convenience, I’ve provided timestamps so you can skip ahead to various sections:  New Construction: 0:54—Pro: You can build the type of home you want 1:45—Pro: Your home will be more efficient 2:03—Con: You’ll likely end up with a smaller home2:24—Con: You’re already maxed out in terms of resale value3:00—Con: You’ll pay the highest real estate tax bracket 3:21—Con: Builders tend to cut corners when building patios, decks, etc.  Pre-Owned Homes:  4:06—Con: The home’s features are aging and the layout might not be ideal5:26—Con: You’ll likely have to upgrade the doorknobs and faucets5:48—Pro: Your home will have more square footage and a higher price per square foot6:19—Con: You’ll have to do some remodeling 7:08—Pro: You’ll be able to get a full brick home  If you’d like to talk more about the pros and cons of each type of home or you have any other real estate needs, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.

The third-quarter numbers are in for the Pittsburgh real estate market, so I wanted to let you know where we’re are now and how that compares to where we were at in the third quarter of 2016 to show how our market has progressed. We’re going to look at four specific indicators to get the best picture: properties for sale, median sale price, expired listings, and days on the market. In Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties, we saw a 29% drop in active inventory in the last three years. In Butler County, we’re down 27% and in Beaver County we’re down 32%. This is all indicative of a seller’s market. As for the median sale price, we saw it increase across the board. It was up 18% in Allegheny County, 17% in Washington County, 12% in Westmoreland County, 11% in Butler County, and 18% in Beaver County.  Expired listings are down by over 20% in Allegheny County, Westmoreland County, Butler County, and Beaver County, but they’re up by 1% in Washington County. When expired listings drop, we know that the market is strong for sellers. For days on market, it’s down anywhere from 18% (in Butler County) all the way up to 32% (in Beaver County.) “It’s a great market to buy or sell in.” As you can see, our seller’s market has only gotten stronger over the last few years with fewer homes for sale, higher sale prices, and lower days on market.  In addition to these factors, we can also look at our interest rates to get an idea of where the market is heading. Right now, the average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is just 3.65%, compared to 3.46% at this time in 2016. It’s still a great market to be a buyer in. Right now, we have just three months of inventory across the market. Butler County has four months, but we’re down by about a third from where it was in 2016. We’re firmly in a seller’s market, and will continue to be until our inventory is at least double what it is now. If you have any questions for us about this current market or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Here’s a quick overview of how real estate trends have changed since August of last year for five counties: Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland, Butler, and Beaver counties. New Listings:Out of all five counties we’re tracking, only Washington saw an increase in the number of new listings on the market. Year-over-year, 3% more homes came on the Washington County market in August. That’s good because as we all know, there’s a general lack of inventory in our market. Pending Sales:All five counties saw a year-over-year increase in pending sales, demonstrating that demand is still strong. Butler County, in particular, was up by 30% over last year. Washington County only rose by 5% over last year, which is on the flat side in terms of year-to-year increases. Median Sales Price:All five counties except Butler saw an increase in median sales prices. Allegheny County is up by 6%; Washington is up by 23% (a huge increase); Westmoreland rose by 20%; Beaver rose by 3%; and Butler dropped by 9%. “If you’re thinking of selling your home, take advantage of conditions now before interest rates go up again.” In Butler County specifically, the days on market increased from 53 days last year to 61 days this year, meaning that homes are taking longer to sell. However, pending home sales rose by 30%, which shows strong demand.  In Washington County, because inventory is on the rise, pending sales are on the decline, and median sales prices are way up, we might begin to see the market level out a bit there. In both Butler and Allegheny counties, expired listing rose over last year. This year, 19% more homes expired in Allegheny County and 30% more expired in Butler County. This might be because of people trying to push their prices a little bit too high. There might also be a little bit of competition with new construction homes, which can cause resale homes to sit on the market a little longer and possibly even fail to sell. Overall, all five counties saw a decrease in inventory, going from between four or five month’s supply to around three month’s supply. Still, we’re in a very strong seller’s market. If you’re thinking of selling your home, take advantage of conditions now before interest rates go up again. They’re fluctuating now, but they’re still under 4%, which is historically very low. If you have any questions about what’s going on in your area real estate market, please reach out to us. We can create a custom report for you to show you what’s happening in your specific neighborhood. We’re here to help with your real estate needs.

Niche.com recently made a list of the top 500 school districts in the state of Pennsylvania, and today we’re taking a look at which of the Pittsburgh-area districts made the list.  To come up with these rankings, Niche.com used a number of different criteria such as test scores, college-readiness, graduation rates, SAT and ACT scores, teacher quality, sports, and more. You can learn more about their scoring model and see the full list here.  “Niche.com used a wide variety of criteria to make their list.” Now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Here’s the list of Pittsburgh-area districts that made the list and where they ranked within our state: 4. Mt. Lebanon5. North Allegheny7. Fox Chapel10. Upper St. Clair18. Hampton Township23. Quaker Valley26. South Fayette Lions41. Peters Twp42. Greater Latrobe47. Moon Area57. Franklin Regional58. North Hills62. Pine-Richland66. Norwin (Knights)69. Seneca Valley75. Hempfield79. Penn Trafford80. Avonworth83. Canon Mac91. Bethel Park92. Mars94. Beaver If you have any questions for me about any of these school districts or anything related to real estate, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

You’ve probably heard a number of agents saying that now is the perfect time to refinance since interest rates are so low. However, low rates aren’t the only factor to consider if you’re thinking of refinancing.  For example, most people don’t realize that homeowners almost always have to pay to refinance out of pocket. Otherwise, the cost of refinancing will be rolled into your total loan amount.  So while refinancing with a lower interest rate may reduce the amount you pay in terms of interest and your monthly payment, you’ll need to pay a significant amount of money to do so. Ultimately, it’s largely the amount of time it will take before you break even on the cost of refinancing that should help you decide whether to do so at all.  “There’s no one-size-fits-all answer as to whether now is a good time to refinance.” Beyond that, you should also think about how long you plan to be in the home. If you only plan to live in your current home for two or three more years, refinancing is probably a bad idea.  If you know you’ll be in the home for at least seven years, though, you may want to speak to a lender about your options.  Honestly, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer as to whether now is a good time to refinance. If you’d like to find out whether it’s a good idea for you, reach out to us. We would be happy to connect you with an experienced local lender. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.