{"id":46696,"date":"2025-11-28T06:59:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T06:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/46696\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T06:59:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T06:59:08","slug":"affordable-ish-housing-in-pittsburgh-thankful-for-this-edition-pittsburgh-city-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/46696\/","title":{"rendered":"Affordable-ish Housing in Pittsburgh: Thankful for this edition – Pittsburgh City Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a lot to be thankful for in Pittsburgh, believe it or not.<\/p>\n

In fact, this might be the best time ever to be a Pittsburgher since ol\u2019 George Washington first surveyed the forks of the Ohio through his looking glass. (Yes, I\u2019m aware that this is blasphemy; we definitely look at the past through black-and-gold-tinted glasses and see our current glass of Iron City as never more than half-full).<\/p>\n

This assertion actually isn\u2019t that big of a stretch. Pittsburgh was an economically thriving, yet overwhelmingly polluted hellhole for most of its existence \u2014 a giant pierogi full of smog and cancer \u2014 until the catastrophic demise of the steel industry. Then it was an economically depressed polluted hellhole. Now, after a long hangover, we\u2019ve discovered something else underneath: a nice, clean-ish mid-sized American city with really unusual topography, a distinctive culture, and a solid array of historic homes. As a result, it\u2019s one of the only cities<\/a> affordable to people without their own hedge fund or NFL contract. That\u2019s pretty nice! \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of course, we have our share of problems, some of them quite serious (schools, budgets, transit<\/a>, take your pick). However, those problems seem somewhat surmountable when people are streaming in (OK, trickling in), instead of stampeding for the exits like there\u2019s a three-score deficit to the Ravens. Growth isn\u2019t automatically good and presents its own set of problems, but when there are more jobs, more taxes being paid, more ideas to throw at problems, and simply more of everything, there are more chances to get things right.<\/p>\n

Because this level of positivity makes me uncomfortable \u2014 my most Pittsburgh quality \u2014 I\u2019d like to also point out that the good times tend to end, and bad times tend to follow. Given the larger forces at work in the world, we\u2019re probably closer to the end than the beginning.<\/p>\n

Happy Thanksgiving!<\/p>\n

For sale: 1532 Marquis Way,<\/a> Mexican War Streets, $200,000.<\/p>\n

For quite a while, I\u2019ve been beating the drum that affordable housing exists in Pittsburgh, as long as you\u2019re willing to look past the usual hotspots into the less-loved corners of the city and inner-ring suburbs. But maybe it\u2019s time to reassess even that; if there are houses in the historic Mexican War Streets for $200K (normally they\u2019d be double or triple that) then something big might be stirring. So far, it\u2019s just one datapoint, but that can change quickly. Watch this space!<\/p>\n

\"\"1502 Forsythe St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For sale: 1502 Forsythe St.,<\/a> Marshall-Shadeland, $129,900.<\/p>\n

One of Pittsburgh\u2019s biggest problems also has an opportunity embedded inside \u2014 we\u2019ve got tens of thousands<\/a> of abandoned properties and empty lots left over from the bad old days. What do Americans say they want most of all right now?\u00a0 Affordable housing! Sure, \u201cit\u2019s not that easy,\u201d I get that, but what if it were? \u00a0(To be clear: this house isn\u2019t abandoned and seems fine, actually. Still cheap, though).<\/p>\n

\"\"Friendship Court, 261 S. Winebiddle St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For rent: Friendship Court, 261 S. Winebiddle St.,<\/a> Friendship, $1,249\/month.<\/p>\n

I got taken to \u201cFriendship Court\u201d once for doubting my pal\u2019s ability to recall how many sacks Kevin Greene had in 1996 (14.5, obviously), and my fine was a case of Iron City and everlasting shame. Would you believe that Friendship Court was a real place, actually, and it\u2019s got pretty reasonable rents? I just wouldn\u2019t rest anything, including your elbows, on the antique radiator there.<\/p>\n

\"\"303 S. Negley Ave. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For rent: 303 S. Negley Ave.,<\/a> East Liberty, $1,050\/month.<\/p>\n

If you want to wait out the next recession with a desultory digression into grad school studying something wildly impractical, well, this place was made for you. Or move in and write that first draft of The Great American Novel, or that screenplay about how Sid Bream was actually out at the plate (he beat out Barry Bonds, really?), and how everything since was a simulation. I mean, I\u2019m rooting for you, if that helps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"1236 High St. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For sale: 1236 High St.,<\/a> Troy Hill, $215,000.<\/p>\n

I think I featured this house\u2019s neighbor a while back, 1234 High Street, which is definitely an address a totally-not-high person would come up with. This one looks considerably better \u2014 even the white vinyl siding looks like new, and the interior is almost blinding in its cleanliness. That blue carpet in the top bedroom is so blue that it looks like a pool, which is likely to seem quite appealing about February or so.<\/p>\n

\"\"5524 Stanton Ave. Credit: Courtesy of Zillow<\/p>\n

For rent: 5524 Stanton Ave.,<\/a> Highland Park, $1,320\/month.<\/p>\n

Housing prices are dropping everywhere; is The Great Rent Descent next? (If so, can I trademark that?). Eh, probably not, because that would involve making life easier for the not-wealthy, and we tend not to do that in this country if we can avoid it. When we start seeing sub-$1,000 rents in Pittsburgh\u2019s Favored Quarter (the East End, basically), then we can call it. Until then, we\u2019ll keep a lookout.<\/p>\n

This article appears in Nov. 26-Dec. 2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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