Reasons for investing in Pittsburgh, Pennysalvania

[Corie Reedyk]

Pittsburgh 2007 AWARDS


PITTSBURGH--Most Livable
Ranked #1 Most Livable City in America by Places Rated Almanac. The 379 metropolitan areas surveyed were evaluated in nine categories: housing affordability (cost of living), transportation, jobs, education, climate, crime, health care, recreation and ambiance (museums, performing arts, restaurants and historical districts).

PITTSBURGH--One of the SMARTEST PLACES TO LIVE IN AMERICA by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine.
Based largely on its affordability, cultural and leisure activities, education options and quality housing, Pittsburgh is the ninth smartest place to set down roots. The magazine studied data that also included the quality of health care, crime rates, weather and commute times in an effort to determine the 50 most fiscally sensible cities in America in which to live. The magazine had positive comments about Pittsburgh: "Currently undergoing a renaissance, this hidden gem has distinctive neighborhoods, tree-lined streets, glittering skyscrapers, upscale shops and a diversified economy."

PITTSBURGH--TOP 3 CITIES NAMED
"City Of The Future in North America" by Foreign Direct Land Investment magazine, an affiliate of the Financial Times, London. The rankings are based on a variety of criteria, and Pittsburgh topped the list of large cities in cost effectiveness, which included business space rental and purchase prices, salaries and energy costs.

PITTSBURGH--TOP 10 World's Cleanest Cities
by Forbes magazine. The magazine recognized the city's transformation stating, "though formerly a steel capital of the U.S., it has turned around and is now into health care, education, robotics, technology and financial services."

PITTSBURGH--100 TOP PLACES TO LIVE
by Relocate-America. The list ranks cities using a combination of feedback from people who live and work in the communities and statistics like education, employment, economy, crime, parks, recreation, and housing.

PITTSBURGH--ONE OF FIVE BEST PLACES TO LIVE FOR the "Creative Class"—a segment that fuels cultural and economic vitality—in a study released by Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine in cooperation with former Carnegie Mellon University professor Richard Florida, who developed the "creative class" concept.

PITTSBURGH--BEST ARTS DESTINATION IN THE COUNTRY by American Style magazine Pittsburgh also scored points among readers for the Andy Warhol Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art and smaller private art galleries.

Most of all, there are properties for less than 25K that can cash flow $400-$600 per month

[Doug Smith]

Hey everybody! I live in Houston, but my website provides a list of wholesale deals and motivated seller leads in 15 cities, including Pittsburgh.

My team and I did a fair amount of research on Pittsburgh a few months ago to see if we should expand our website to cover that area. We were looking for a city with a relatively stable real estate market and relatively low home values, which tend to equate to better cash flow if you choose to be a landlord.

After looking at about 30 cities, we chose Pittsburgh because its economy is based more on health care and IT, which are somewhat stable compared to banking and finance, for example.

Before we expanded there, we knew ... 1) median home values were nice and low at about $109k, 2) home values never went sky high, so they're not likely to fall as much, 3) the economy is pretty stable, 4) it's best to buy rentals for cash flow as opposed to the fix/resell model.

After we expanded there, we learned ... 1) the # of active wholesalers in Pittsburgh is really low, 2) it's very difficult to get motivated seller leads via PPC there, and 3) we have to work harder to get members to sign up for our website there.

So overall, it's a good investing climate, but there's not as much investor activity as there should be. A Pittsburgh local needs to spread the word that they need to be investing right now! ... It really is one of the best places in the country to invest ... Or, just keep it all to yourself to avoid the competition!