Deprecated: mb_convert_encoding(): Handling HTML entities via mbstring is deprecated; use htmlspecialchars, htmlentities, or mb_encode_numericentity/mb_decode_numericentity instead in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/super-cool-ad-inserter/inc/scaip-shortcode-inserter.php on line 37
Pittsburgh added about 300 people between 2020 and 2023, which is … not a lot! Like when Giant Eagle sees 300 people, they’re probably like, “Nah, not enough to add another (human) checkout lane. Let ‘em fume a bit more.”
However, for Pittsburgh, which was been losing population for longer than most of us have been alive, it’s a good sign. Sure, these numbers are really just estimates and placeholders until the decennial Census gives us definitive figures, but losing population year after year, decade after decade, is a bad look for a city that stacks up pretty well in other respects.
Population growth has its upsides and downsides, of course. Widening the tax base and getting more people to fund schools and road repair is good. People tend to show up where there are jobs available, also a good thing. But really strong population growth has a lot of drawbacks: traffic, sprawl, unsustainable increases in home prices. So, what does this mean for a column that’s supposed to be about affordable housing?
No idea! Our housing prices are going up too, just not as fast as high-growth cities like Nashville or Austin. There are likely a lot of reasons for the increase, but population growth probably isn’t one of them.
I mean, it’s 300 people. There are probably 300 people who bet on Sauerkraut Saul to win the Pierogi Race at every Buccos home game, just because he has to win some time. (Narrator: he does not).
STANTON HEIGHTS
For sale: 1219 Duffield St., $280,000
Somehow, there are still some decent homes in the East End/“favored quarter” direction that haven’t been inflated into oblivion yet, and let’s just appreciate that while it lasts, OK? Stanton Heights has few amenities of its own, but it’s quiet and unobtrusive and lets neighboring Lawrenceville take the heat. This 1927 brick four-square has clearly been carpet-bombed gray/white/neutral by an air wing of contemporary interior decorators, but it holds up well and looks great inside and out. 1,276 square feet is small for three bedrooms, but it looks like you could play hockey on that porch and have room for a tiny Zamboni. (The neighborhood kids would dub you a legend in perpetuity).
For rent: 4317 Coleridge St., $1,000/month
A sylvan repose in a quiet neighborhood on a street named for a poet for $1,000 a month. I don’t know what the starting wage is down at the ol’ poem factory, but it’s got to be enough to make this work. There’s also a “Teacher/Education Personnel Discount” noted in the ad, which is a nice riposte to the idea that the housing market is a heartless, neo-feudalist horror working to impose a new serfdom upon us. Hey, it can be both.
GARFIELD
For sale: 4756 Kincaid St., $260,000
Wow, I think I owe an apology to every real estate agent and/or person who just wanted their home to sell and spent money to give it that ubiquitous clean/neutral/minimalist look. This is what happens when you don’t do that. And yet, how can you not admire the formal integrity of doily-style tablecloths, plastic seat covers, multiple weird mirrors, and enough accumulated knickknacks and gewgaws to effectively place this house outside of time entirely — and inside some kind of eternal-grandma dimension. Of course, I love this even more because I got to write that last sentence instead of complaining how everything is white or gray. Pittsburgh Grandma remains undefeated.
For rent: 5161 Penn Ave., $1,500/month
My son didn’t know much about the neighborhood of Garfield, which his new school is in, so I told him all about the history of this vibrant neighborhood, and the value of having a main business district (Penn Ave.) with all kinds of stores, cafes, and galleries in walking distance. Nah, I’m kidding. I lied and told him it was named after Garfield (the cat). Not my finest hour, but I couldn’t help myself.
SQUIRREL HILL
For sale: 2323 Sherbrook St., $229,000
Duplexes make excellent starter homes, perfect for a single person or small family. This is Squirrel Hill, so the odds are that you’re sharing a wall with a quiet grad student, a collection of cardigans, and a cat, and not a death-metal drummer. Like, that’s a non-zero possibility, but it’s highly unlikely.
For rent: 6379 Ebdy St., $1,080/month
Squirrel Hill is just so big and weird and full of anomalous housing types — the kind that are simply never allowed to congregate in any newly-created neighborhood — that you can still find some inexpensive rents if you look. This is a cleverly concealed duplex (with an apartment on the second floor), in a part of town so quiet and green that it makes Fox Chapel look like Fury Road.
This article appears in May 29 – Jun 4, 2024.
