House sales in region rise in May
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Pittsburgh's housing market has improved over two years ago, based on the number of homes sold and the price buyers are paying for them.
The median home price in the Pittsburgh region reached $130,000 during May, up 8.3 percent from May 2009, according to RealSTATS, a local real estate information service. During the month, 2,115 residential properties changed hands, almost 11 percent more than those sold two years ago, and buyers spent a total of $342 million, an increase of 21 percent.
"Looking back two years tells us that the region's homes sales are on an upward swing in both activity and price," said Dan Murrer, vice president of the South Side company.
From May 2009 to May 2011, dollar activity in Allegheny County rose 20.9 percent from $173.9 million to $210.3 million. Westmoreland County saw a 30.6 percent increase from $33.9 million to $44.3 million. Sales in Beaver County increased 56.7 percent from $10.4 million to $16.3 million, and, 19.7 percent in Butler County from $34.5 million to $41.3 million.
Mr. Murrer said he avoided comparing May 2011 to May 2010 because of the price and sales distortion caused by the first-time homebuyer tax credit in effect last year.
He said last month's 21 percent increase in dollar activity and 10.9 percent rise in number of sales compared to two years ago suggests sales in the higher-end communities are more robust than in the middle and lower-end communities in the five-county region.
"This suggests two things," Mr. Murrer said. "That it's easier today for more affluent individuals to get the funds needed to buy a home than the average Joe, and [that] higher unemployment may be adversely affecting the working class neighborhoods."
First Published June 21, 2011 12:00 am
