Affordable-ish Housing in Pittsburgh: Let's disconnect for a moment edition

Hey, who wants to space out and look at weird little Pittsburgh houses with us? (...Anybody?) Pittsburgh has the most affordable homes available in the country, according to the real estate website Zillow. First, the bad news: "Nationally, more than one in four (27%) active listings were affordable to the typical household in September 2024 — a drop of 12 percentage points from pre-pandemic levels. This is likely a reflection of the run-up in home prices over the past four years, higher interest rates for the better part of two years and the historically low number of homes for sale. Combined, they created an affordability crisis that continues to affect many aspiring buyers." Clearly that's a problem.For the study, Zillow made a list of markets where the cost of housing consumes less than of "a typical household's budget." They found 12 metros where at least 50% of home listings qualify as affordable, according to the above metric. Then there's Pittsburgh at the top:"In the case of Pittsburgh, nearly three in four listings are affordable." That's 73% of affordable listings, with "a typical home value" of $215,661. That's also the lowest value cited for any city; the next lowest was St. Louis at $251,256. Does that mean everybody can afford the exact house that they want in Pittsburgh? I don't know; probably not. But here, your chances are better than most anywhere else. For sale: North Side, $299,000. Now, that's a beauty, a bona fide Victorian mansion with gingerbread details and a price that is hard to believe. Soaring tall ceilings — the whole house is very tall, actually. You will get your steps in going up these stairs, no doubt. The pink room isn't going to be for everyone, but the modern bathroom seems like a good compromise. The house is perched on a hill overlooking the North Side, and the height of the house makes the view is even better. There's even a vintage tub, and a room with a bar.

For rent: Lofts of Mt. Washington, Formerly a Depression-era school, the only thing you want to hear about any lofts on Mt. Washington is, how lofty are they? Like, is there a view? From the looks of these windows, that famous million-dollar view is accessible from some of these units (maybe the more expensive ones — they do go up to $2,000/month). It's a handsome building, with cream-colored brick that doesn't look like it lived through a World War's worth of steel mill soot.

For sale: Hazelwood, $159,900. When you have 90 neighborhoods, there are bound to be a few that stay low-key for whatever reason. Hazelwood is one of those places — kind of the last stand of the sub-$200,000 homes left in the East End area. This has some additions that make it look a little odd, but it's 1920 vintage, so it's clearly sturdy and has a cement-block garage attached that 's going to come in handy if it ever gets cold again (oh, it will).

For rent: The Wendover Community, 5562 Hobart St., Squirrel Hill, $835/$1,680. Gothic architecture is pretty iconic in Pittsburgh — that's the style of the Cathedral of Learning, after all. But it's not exactly common to have an opportunity to actually live in a Gothic apartment building. This one has a dramatic arched, white terracotta entrance and a lovely landscaped interior courtyard, and is in walking distance of about 100 places to eat in Squirrel Hill.

For sale: Brighton Heights, $185,000. There's not a lot you can rely on these days, but Brighton Heights is still a strange portal into an older, cheaper Pittsburgh, with very attractive older homes for shockingly low prices. However, the appreciation is significant here, too — this home last sold for $70,000 in 2011. The downside is that Brighton Heights is a city neighborhood without most of the conveniences of city life (walkability, good transit, etc.), though it's not a bad commute to Downtown. This three-bedroom home has a living room-sized porch out front, a working fireplace, and a fenced-in backyard.

For rent: Palm Garden Apartments, Palm Garden Apartments consists of three buildings in a triangular formation, in an out-of-the-way part of the Hilltop. There are 54 units here, and anything $800-925 is about as affordable as it gets these days. Built in 1937, this is a transit-rich part of the city, so going car-less is actually an option. We need more places like this, where you aren't forced into a car just to get anywhere useful.