Just build housing.
If you’re unhappy about the cost of housing, you need to build more of it. Well, not you personally. But someone does. More supply = less upward pressure on prices.
There’s no other mechanism for creating the amount of affordable housing we need. Well, aside from economic collapse, crippling depression, or a nightmarish crime wave. That should bring prices down.
So, whose job is it to build housing? Kickstarter? Paul Skenes? Gritty?
Yes, the government can build homes, but the history of public housing in America isn’t a good one (it’s better in some other countries). Government should probably still do some of that. But that doesn’t seem like a priority for the federal government at the moment, and local government has enough trouble just keeping the lights on. The state would probably have to invent a new tax to make a dent. (I suggest taxing mobile quarterbacks, and the color green. Why? No reason.)
Until we come up with some other, better idea, most of our housing comes from people who want to make money. It’s not a great system, but it’s what we have to work with. Communities should demand and incentivize affordability from developers. But the most important thing is getting as much housing built as possible, which is the only thing that will reliably bring prices down.
So just build housing.
For sale: 1714-1716 Lowrie St., Troy Hill, $265,000.
Oh, wow, I have a niece named Victoria and I kind of want to buy her Victoria’s Dairy and open an ice cream shop inside it. Is that so wrong? I’ll be able to afford that approximately one month before the sun finally burns out, so you might want to move faster. This was the American dream before it mutated into a monster McMansion in the suburbs — a place to start a business, build a life apart from the entrenched hierarchies and hatreds of the old country, and live above the shop so your kids can see the value of your work. (Or something like that). Or, if you just want a place to sell your collection of Bubby Brister and Ulf Samuelsson jerseys, go right ahead.
For rent: 5302 Butler St., Apt. 1, Lawrenceville, $1,125/month.
It’s nice to feel wanted, right? Like this apartment is so excited to get you in there that the door is literally hanging open, a moving van is right there with the engine running, and there’s a mop ready to clean those floors one more time (or twice, would that help?). Butler St. in Lawrenceville is a tough place to live if you hate good food, interesting bars, and young people. Somehow, it went from sad, post-industrial decline to startling affluence without national chains ever arriving. Yes, I’m aware that some people are unhappy about all this, but every Larryville old-timer I’ve ever interviewed in the last 20 years seemed thrilled to sell their home to some ignorant out-of-towner and pursue the ancient yinzer dream of moving to Shaler.
For sale: 420 Ridge Ave., Carnegie, $114,900.
Is Carnegie the new Brighton Heights? By that I mean “a ridiculously undervalued location full of great looking homes for 1990s prices.” This house doesn’t come with every modern convenience; when it was built (in 1900), nobody needed a garage because nobody had a car because they had only just been invented. That metal awning probably sounds like a demolition derby in a rainstorm, so budget a little extra to make it go away.
For rent: The Yards at 3 Crossings, 2645 Railroad St., Strip District, $1,505/month.
I’m not going to pretend to love the design of these apartments — the orange and gray-dazzle-camo will not age well. But this is precisely where big new apartment buildings should go — along the Allegheny River in the Strip, where almost everything from food to jobs to recreation is in walking distance. This was industrial land, then largely vacant, so there’s really no one to displace. I’m sure there’s a downside to this, but I struggle to imagine what it is. The rivers are nice now! Build housing on the nice rivers! Build so much of it that moderately affluent newcomers buy/rent there and stop driving up rents on the weird little houses in marginal neighborhoods!
For sale: 2620 Salisbury St., Arlington, $189,900.
Every time I think about how much better things were when I was a kid, I just think about something called Salisbury Steak. That was a dish that we were often excited to eat, that looked and tasted like a cut of meat seasoned by sticking it inside your shoe for a week. Food is so much better now; you have no idea. This house is on Salisbury St., which has nothing to do with the steak. In fact, it looks almost spotless for a house that has weathered decades of steel mill soot and brutal winters.
For rent: 1350 Evers Dr., Apt. 36, Lincoln-Lemington, $950/month.
I can remember when East Liberty had such a reputation for crime and decay that landlords would call it “East End” or even “East Shadyside” instead. Now, they’re stretching the definition of East Liberty to cover all adjacent neighborhoods, because East Liberty is a hot selling point. Honestly, this sucks then and it sucks now — just be honest about where you’re located. You’re not fooling anybody. If this place was really in East Liberty, it would cost like three times as much.
This article appears in Feb 12-18, 2025.
