Prospective homeowners battle volatile market in Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Housing prices across the country are continuing to soar, but a local realtor said there is a glimmer of hope for people looking to buy in Pittsburgh.
While the O'Neil family is comfortable in their Monaca apartment, they won't be for long. The couple has two young sons and a baby on the way.
"This being a two-bedroom, we need a three-bedroom. It's a little hard. It would especially be nice to have a four-bedroom because then all the boys can have their own little room," said Franklin O'Neil.
They started looking to buy a house last summer and really ramped up their search about two months ago. But after looking at a dozen homes in Beaver and Lawrence counties, no luck.
"Either the seller doesn't want to use a government-backed loan or the houses have issues and with the value of houses, it's too much work to fix it. It won't pass inspections," Franklin said.
The one time they found something that worked, they went in with a strong offer and still lost out after someone overbid them.
"About $118,000, and he put it in for around $130,000," said Courtney O'Neil.
Bob Friend with Howard Hanna said that's not uncommon right now.
"We've had a lot of buyers that have lost out on six or seven homes, and the agent is doing everything they can," said Friend. "We've seen homes that were $700,000 that have sold for $825,000 because of multiple offers."
Friend said the housing market has gotten so competitive for a few reasons. One reason is the pandemic. He said it caused some families to realize that they needed more space to work remotely. Another reason is investors are flooding the market.
"A lot of big group investors with big pools of cash coming in and they're buying what might be a first-time homebuyer's house," said Friend. "They're putting a little money into it then flipping it or sitting on it, holding it and leasing it out."
If you're struggling to find a home right now, you might be considering a rental instead. But Howard Hanna said the rental market has become competitive too.
"If you can't find a house, it's going to drive you possibly into leasing a house or apartment for six to 12 months. A stable supply and high demand is going to drive lease rates up," said Friend.
The O'Neils said they might have to consider continuing to rent if they can't find a home in their price range.
However, Friend said it does appear that the housing market is slowly starting to stabilize.
"Inventory is ticking up. Last month, we were around 2,800 homes and right now at 3,500 homes," said Friend.
He's hopeful that higher interest rates from the Fed will help.
"I think as interest rates rise, it's going to slow everything down a bit and normalize the housing market," said Friend.