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BY SAM SPATTER
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
Pittsburgh-area apartment buildings continue to find favor with out-of-town buyers.
And for good reason, experts say.
Apartment vacancies in the region stood at only 2.5 percent at year-end 2008 — the lowest vacancy rate in the nation, according to one report — and that's proving attractive to investors from other states.
"With our occupancy level close to 98 percent, it's no wonder that 70 percent of apartment building sales here are to out-of-town buyers," said Cynthia Kamin, senior vice president, CB Richard Ellis/Pittsburgh, a Downtown-based commercial real estate company.
Survey: Housing prices in Pittsburgh least risky for decline
| By Sam Spatter TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Pittsburgh ranks as the least risky housing market in the nation for prices to decline over the next two years, a survey of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas found.
"There is a 6.4 percent chance of home prices declining in Pittsburgh during the next two years," said LaVaughn Henry, director of economic analysis for PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., which today released its Summer 2007 U.S. Market Risk Index. "That ranks Pittsburgh's housing market the safest in the country regarding price volatility," he said. The survey, which for the first time measured how much price appreciation varied over the last five years, resulted in determining the Pittsburgh market as the most stable. The primary reason is that Pittsburgh is a traditional town and has not experienced the exotic mortgage alternatives other communities have seen. Most Affordable Places To Live Well
Pittsburgh There's a lot more to Pittsburgh than its post-industrial reputation and the hometown Steelers football team. Institutions like the Carnegie Museum, the Andy Warhol Museum and the Mattress Factory (a contemporary art museum) enrich the city's art scene. The area's cost of living is actually a touch above the national average, according to The Council on Community and Economic Research, but housing is the 11th most affordable in the country, based on NAHB/Wells Fargo figures
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