Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Yay for Fearmongering!

On a national level, the housing slump is hurting the nation. That sucks. It makes me really happy I sold my condo in Connecticut to buy a house in Pittsburgh.

Unfortunately, the Post-Gazette appears to have gotten jealous of all the press other papers around the country are getting about the disastrous housing slump and wants to scare us here in Pittsburgh.

Their disastrous result: It's going to be more difficult to get a mortgage.

I, for one, am thankful that mortgages won't be growing on trees anymore. One of the major causes of the housing bubble was people being able to buy houses they couldn't afford with ridiculous mortgage options - and trying to prevent that from happening here can't be a bad thing. I don't ever expect to make a 100% profit on my house in Pittsburgh like I made on my condo in Connecticut. That's not why I bought my house. I bought it because I fell in love with its view and its character and its great location in the South Side Slopes.

I guess I'm rambling, but my point is. Post-Gazette, quit it with the fear-mongering. The Pittsburgh real estate market is in a pretty good place. Hopefully, in the future, we'll be able to continue to avoid the mania which swept the coasts of this country. This is a good thing.

(reference: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07360/844413-28.stm)

2 comments:

Frank said...

I know what you mean! I think it was Pittsblog that had an article a little while back about how Pittsburgh's foreclosure rate has actually dropped during the same period that it has skyrocketed in other places. Just as we all know, Pittsburgh's market is stable, which is a good thing.

Great post!

The Blurgh

Joey Rahimi said...

agreed ... but remember, fear sells papers/magazines/ratings.

IF you want to avoid a housing slump, buy a home for below the median value of other homes in the neighborhood and you'll be fine for the long run. Even better, buy a home that's underpriced that you can work on in your spare time.

As far as getting a mortgage is concerned, there are so many options that will cover closing costs for first time home buyers that it would be silly not to buy a home in pittsburgh upon graduating from college.