The Residences at South High, 930 E. Carson St. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of The Residences at South High

Oh, hey, look, someone solved the housing crisis: “Austin Rents Tumble 220% from Peak on Massive Home Building Spree.”

Sure, there might be other things that help at the margins, and other things worth doing. But if you want a metro-sized solution to a very big problem, this is all there is: you’ve got to build housing.

Since this column is almost entirely about the weird little old houses of Pittsburgh, you may assume I’m in the “never change anything” camp — that I’m holding out hope that the steel mills are going to reopen someday, Chuck Noll will be reincarnated, and order will be restored to the universe.

Not happening! The only thing we can say about the future is that it won’t be much like the past. For the record, I think we can have a growing, thriving city AND a city that preserves most of the good things about it — especially those weird little old houses. In fact, you can’t have the latter without the former. Someone has to live in those houses, and Pittsburgh old-timers are dying out (or retiring to Myrtle Beach). Lots of new houses/apartments decreases the upward pressure on prices in our existing housing stock. Pittsburgh needs new people and they need places to live (all kinds, not just old houses).

Not that being more like Austin should be the goal — that city seems like a different beast than Pittsburgh (to be fair, I’ve never even been there!). But when a city growing as fast as Austin has managed to bring average rents back down to $1,399/month, it’s time to pay attention.

For rent: Residences at South High, 930 E. Carson St., South Side, $1,280-2,100/month.
“Experience Carefree Living Just Like Your School Days!” Ha (Tim Robinson “You sure about that? gif goes here). My school days were anything but carefree, and I have no desire to live in my old high school. But it was a hideous 1970s concrete bunker and not a turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts beauty like the old South Side High School. These kinds of schools make good-quality housing — if a bit tricky and capital-intensive to redevelop — and Pittsburgh is really developing some expertise in the field. Just make sure you get a hall pass when you go out back to clap the erasers.

Helm on the Allegheny, 2239 Railroad St. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For rent: Helm on the Allegheny, 2239 Railroad St., Strip District, $1,023-$2,681/month.
The Strip District is the perfect place to put transplants because hardly anyone has lived here until very recently (and, well, the 1800s), so there’s no one to displace. River views, transit connections, incredible walkability, amazing groceries and restaurants — need I go on? And yet … we are at peak ugly apartment, and it doesn’t have to be this way. Helm on the Allegheny is far from the worst offender (that would be the Arsenal apartments in Lawrenceville) – and at least one side of this building looks OK, but unless you’re on a coal barge, you probably won’t see it. This has a nice density, good prices, even a creative approach to a slim sliver of a site, with those serrated balconies facing the water. But it doesn’t matter how many colors and shapes of corrugated metal siding you slap on, it’s always going to look like a shipping container.

22 Edith Pl. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For sale: 22 Edith Pl., South Oakland, $145,000.
Follow the yellow-brick homes to South Oakland! Not a lot for sale here, but it’s nice to see this old working-class neighborhood still has some of the old prices. Maybe it’s the proximity of like 50,000 students who tend to tend to keep property values low. Now, nobody’s saying college kids are bad neighbors, but there’s a reason nobody wants to live in the dorms after a year or so — even college kids want to get away from college kids. But if you’re not bothered by the usual nuisances — the smell of weed, pizza boxes, yelling at 3 a.m. — the price is certainly pretty good.

311 Birmingham Ave. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For sale: 311 Birmingham Ave., Carrick, $149,000.
This just dropped $20,000 in the past month, which is a lot for a house that was listed for less than 200K to begin with. Carrick has its problems, but this is a really nice yellow-brick Victorian in good shape for old-Pittsburgh prices, which exist in fewer and fewer places every year. (Though, to be fair, they are still plentiful in further-out places like the Mon Valley and Beaver County.) But nothing stays the same; Carrick’s day could be around the corner if the city ever booms again.

3331 Milwaukee St. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For sale: 3331 Milwaukee St., Polish Hill, $199,000.
There used to be a Pittsburgh alt-country band called The Polish Hillbillies, and they were way better than that name would suggest. I Googled them recently to see if there were any extant recordings and all I got was an obituary and a Michigan travel agency with that name, which is pretty sad. This hillside enclave still has a little Polish flavor, but I wish there was more; you should literally be greeted with a steaming plate of pierogies if you manage to walk all the way up from the Strip District. This 1930 house, recessed back a little from the street, is in solid shape and seems to have recently acquired a nice coat of white paint.

Beechwood Gardens, 3245 Beechwood Blvd. Credit: Photo: Courtesy of Zillow

For rent: Beechwood Gardens, 3245 Beechwood Blvd., Squirrel Hill, $975/month.
Squirrel Hill has a lot of things going for it, that I probably don’t need to enumerate further here. However, one thing that’s worth pointing out again is that there are still some cheap rentals in Squirrel Hill, like Beechwood Gardens. Despite being nothing special in themselves — though one side will have some amazing views over the Mon Valley — these apartments put you within three miles of the universities and a good chunk of the region’s jobs and best places to eat (try Taiwanese Bistro 33, Everyday Noodles, and Amazing Dumplings, for starters).