Home Sale Rates in Pittsburgh Region

The real estate sales market in the Pittsburgh region is showing signs of improvement from August statistics, and much of that is thanks to the home buyer tax credit. That region includes Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Daniel Murrer, Vice President of RealSTATS based in South Side, says the median price of a home is up by almost $2,000 to $125,000, while average prices of homes are down to about $158,000 from $161,855. Murrer says there are many things going on to cause this, such as sales that are more than $250,000 being down by 11 percent, perhaps because of lending troubles. He also cites the first-time home buyer tax credit, with a $8,000 return, to be a driving force in lower price sales around $100,000. Another force that brings prices down is the slowdown of sales in general. Murrer says sellers “get anxious” and lower the price so the property sells faster.