Homeowner · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2014 · 854 posts · 511 votes
I have had family living in the Lawrenceville area since the early 1900s and I find it astonishing to witness the revitalization going on in that neighborhood.
It made me wonder what other neighborhoods are poised for a comeback. Curious to hear the thoughts of BP members living or investing in the Pittsburgh area. What neighborhood and why??
Just be careful. I bookmarked this map to give me a gauge on where I don't want to be. You will see a lot of areas right around Bakery Square are considered among the worst places in the city.
I really like Wilkinsburg. Its close to the city, still affordable and there has been new construction in the past few years plas see alot of renovation. I currently have 1 rental there and I am asked almost every time I'm there if it is available. Main drawback is the high property tax rate.
At our REIA meetings I heard about some no-interest loan programs in Homewood so hopefully that may turn around one day? I have not bought there, but have talked to several investors that have.
Thanks for the response. Other than the crime I hear about on TV, I don't know much about those areas. Of course I recall seeing plenty of Lawrenceville home invasions hitting the news over the years.
I grew up in Knoxville and don't see any signs of a turn around for that neighborhood. Considering Mt. Oliver is the closest business district, I think that neighborhood needs to improve before Knoxville can come back to life.
Hi David. Yes, Lawrenceville is up and coming. The South Side on East Carson for sure continues to expand based on the new retail space. But an area to watch, in my opinion, is Bakery Square. As a realtor, it's my job to keep track of what's going on, both in residential and commercial. Drop me a line if you want to chat further.
Don't we all wish we had that chrystal ball? I know if I knew what was going to happen to Lawrenceville I would have bought everything I could get my hands on lol.
Without a chrystal ball there is no way to be sure, some areas I like are Crafton/Ingram, West end, Milvale seems to be getting better.
I also think some day down the road Sheridan and the Rox are going to turn around probably after Carson street reaches out that way.
Sorry for the delay in replying, David. It's the area that sort of borders East Liberty and Lincoln-Larrimer. The cool thing is that it's part of 15206 which includes Shadyside.. very interesting. And Google located in this area, which says something...they've invested. They're located on Penn Ave. And to my understanding, the Bakery Sq area is attracting other businesses which brings in buyers and renters. Just a thought......
No apology necessary. It definitely sounds like a great area to invest in. Right now I am focusing on finding a vacation rental in Florida, but if I don't find a good deal soon I might start looking for a rental property in Pittsburgh.
Just be careful. I bookmarked this map to give me a gauge on where I don't want to be. You will see a lot of areas right around Bakery Square are considered among the worst places in the city.
@Jeremy T. This is a great map, thanks for posting! How did you find this? and are there others like it? or do you know of ways to create similar ones with the same type of outlines (ie by municipality, school district, zip, etc)
I misinterpretted how the map worked. I thought the little flags were the notable gangs, but it appears they are for gang claimed apartments. I clicked in the Knoxville section and saw the gang reference.
It is disgusting that someone (BP member) has the nerve to market a house in that area with the reference "quiet dead end street" and "nearby park."
I found this on the Pittsburgh forum on city-data.com by a user named "Uptown Kid". After reading some of his posts, he is clearly a "boots on the ground" type of individual and has tremendous insight into the happenings within the less savory neighborhoods around town. If you do a google search for "pittsburgh city data uptown kid" and click on his profile link, he has a bunch of different maps that provide similar information.
As for creating the map, I'm not sure...but there are probably tutorials on google maps about how to annotate them.
@Jeremy T. Thanks for the info, that's a nice tool for evaluating crime rates on certain streets/neighborhoods. I'll take a look at his profile and see what else I can find.
I am bumping the thread and including the h in Pittsburgh so it will show up in keyword searches. I haven't purchased an investment property as of yet, so I can't really answer your question.
This is a really good thread. Does anyone have experience in any of the neighborhoods closer to the North Hills? I'm curious about areas like Bellevue and other areas that may be good multi-family markets?
Stories about the redevelopment of the Pittsburgh Civic Arena site. The comments section on the Post is blowing up on this one. Housing for as little as $600/month in a prime location.
I had the same thought. Definitely going to be a big demand for rental property, but for how long? Once they get what they want out of the ground, the jobs and the housing market in those areas are going to take a big hit.
I would have to do A LOT more reading on the process & projections before decided to invest in those areas.