Pittsburgh’s housing market is now neutral, data shows

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — New data from home selling stats shows the Southwest Pennsylvania housing market is cooling. 

The data shows it’s taking longer to sell homes in Southwestern Pennsylvania. So, does that put the area in a seller’s or buyer’s market?

It actually might be a neutral market. Now might be a good time to learn about it because according to the experts, a neutral market is what Southwestern Pennsylvania is.

Buyer’s and seller’s markets are determined by how long the average house takes to sell. If it takes more than 90 days, it’s a buyer’s market. If it takes less than 90 days, it’s a seller’s market. Right in the middle at around 90 days for the average house to sell is a neutral market. 

Zillow and other data put Southwestern Pennsylvania at neutral, a change from the area’s previous place of a seller’s market. 

“I still think that here in the western suburbs, like here in Moon, it’s still a seller’s market,” Berkshire Hathaway realtor Laurie Kelly said. “It might be slowing a little, but there’s not enough inventory here to substantiate even a neutral market.”

What does this mean for buyers or sellers?  For buyers, continue shopping for your home. You are dependent on the sellers. But what about sellers?  Kelly, a 17-year real estate veteran, said the days of highballing your listing are gone.

“They have to be very conservative now,” Kelly said. “If it’s going to shift, you don’t want to be behind the eight ball. You want to price it correctly.”

Some additional information for anyone thinking of listing now. Once school starts, we begin the slow season in real estate. The peak season is July through the mid-summer.