Affordable-ish Housing in Pittsburgh: Taking this seriously edition

There is a housing crisis in America, as you may have heard. It’s one of the biggest sources of stress for young people, in particular. So I feel a little remorse for not taking the subject of housing in Pittsburgh 100% seriously all the time. But every once in a while I’ll arrive by accident at an observation that seems to hint at a larger truth.

This week, a smart economics writer with a national platform observed something similar: homeowners and homebuyers not only desire different things — they want more-or-less opposite things. The context for Noah Smith’s Substack column is Kamala Harris’ housing plan, which he likes. But as Smith puts it, the problem is that “if owner-occupied housing becomes more affordable, that makes most Americans poorer.” That’s because most middle-class Americans derive most of their wealth from the homes they own, which have to keep getting more valuable or they lose money.

An ideal housing policy, according to Smith, consistently creates a lot of new housing supply, and “makes housing wealth appreciate slowly but steadily over time, so that people leave the system richer than they bought in.” He notes that Harris’ plan is similar to Singapore’s approach, which includes a lot of elements like cutting red tape and tax incentives for builders of starter homes and low-cost rental housing, but it’s particularly heavy on tax credits and monetary support for first-time homebuyers.

But won’t that drive up the cost of housing? Well, it did in Singapore, but the effect was very small, and that’s a small price to pay for the intended goal — to get more people into the income redistribution/wealth-creating program that is homeownership.

Maybe there are better ideas out there; I would love to hear them. Forging a temporary truce between homeowners and homebuyers seems like a worthy goal. Wouldn’t it be nice if this pretty big problem got a fraction of the attention devoted to scaremongering about THE BORDER? I’m not holding my breath.

NORTH
For sale: 3224 Richardson Ave., Brighton Heights. $92,500
Brighton Heights is still that weird little wormhole to an older, cheaper Pittsburgh, one with very nice houses (historic even) that don’t cost an arm and a leg and a grab-bag of other internal organs. Sure, it’s closer to the suburbs than Downtown and doesn’t have much in walking distance aside from a really great grilled cheese. If this frankly ridiculous price has you a little skeptical — it also includes all new flooring, carpet and a furnace. And it’s three bedrooms. (Brighton Heights is a real place, I swear).

For rent: 1000 Cedar Ave., Deutschtown. $1,000/month
Oh, hey, a decently priced rental in one of the hot parts of the North Side, in walking distance to lots of restaurants, jobs, parks, and ballgames. Sure, the house looks like it has a no-nonsense mustache and a unibrow, which gives it some character (maybe too much), and you’re going to hear some sirens and helicopters from nearby Allegheny General. But not long ago, it seemed like every third house on this street was boarded up, so let’s not let the perfect be the enemy of the good, OK?
SOUTH
For sale: 1600 Mount Joseph St., Carrick. $199,000
If you were worried about Pittsburgh’s weird-little-house supply drying up, well, I’m happy to inform you that it’s not infinite, but close. This wood-frame abode is a tiny house from before they were cool (like 120 years before). But it also has a garage and a pool, because of course it does. Yet the inside is just as spacious and tastefully beige as the current style dictates, with a few odd curveballs like an unusual stone wall that retains some decadent ‘80s vibes, in a good way. Of course, if I were trying to sell this house, instead of advertising how close it is to Route 51, I would simply advertise how far away it is from Route 51. Seriously, that road sucks.
For rent: 2311 Valera Ave. #1, Carrick. $676/month
I always get a little nervous when a place advertises 0 bedrooms, which in this case denotes a studio apartment in the bottom half of a duplex. That would be a surprising rental price for a house without any rooms, too. Pittsburgh’s yellow brick can be an acquired taste, but I think I’ve acquired it. At the very least, they give a little pop of color for the eye to savor in the long brown season (RIP snow) between December and April.
WEST
For rent: 99 Bradford Ave., Crafton. $1,000/month
Every time I’ve ever been in Crafton, I’ve accidentally ended up on Cowher Way, the street named for Stillers legend Bill Cowher … until this week! Being an idiot Steelers fan, I’m going to choose to interpret this as a sign that the Steelers are going 17-0 this season. Oh, Crafton? It’s really nice. Why does no one talk about Crafton? Even now, I can’t say anything about it except that Cowher Power runs deep here, and it’s got some beautiful, historic houses like this place. Look, real vintage hardwood floors — what a color!
For sale: 1494 Crafton Blvd., $264,900
So why does no one talk about Crafton? Oh, it has a total of one house for sale on Zillow. Well, I guess we’ll go back to never talking about Crafton. This is the lone holdout, and it’s pretty weird, with some great wraparound porch action and a lot of oddly-shaped windows and alcoves and collisions of cladding and brick. But it’s also a triplex! So, three dwellings with a total of four bedrooms. I’m in.