If only there were other options available than the tiresome choices of renting or buying a home. Some kind of secret, third thing. How much fun would it be to recommend living as a stowaway on the Gateway Clipper, or in the forgotten coal-mining catacombs below Mt. Washington, or the post-apocalyptic ruins of Spencer’s Gifts at Century III Mall?
But no, we’re stuck with renting or owning. Both have their advantages and disadvantages; you have to pick the one that suits you best. There is no right answer.
Or is there?
“Big city dwellers are better off renting than buying a home anywhere,” blares a recent headline in USA Today. “In 21 of the 50 largest U.S. metros, the typical monthly cost of owning is at least 50% more expensive than the typical monthly cost of renting.”
Well, that’s a bold statement. Owning a house has its perks, like not giving your money to a landlord and building equity in an appreciating asset. But clearly, renting is cheaper if you’re simply looking for an affordable place to live. We try to stay impartial; this column always looks at places to rent as well as homes to buy.
Of course, there’s a weird stat in this story about Pittsburgh, which has the second-lowest gap between renting and buying: “monthly rent is $1,415 on average compared with a typical mortgage payment of $1,488 for a 5.1% gap.” Detroit is the city with the smallest gap; Philadelphia and Cleveland are slightly larger than Pittsburgh’s. For comparison, in Seattle, the average rent is $2,191 and the average mortgage payment is $4,930, so rent is 125% lower. In San Francisco/Bay Area, it’s 180.7% lower.
So, pick the one that suits you best, and don’t let anyone give you a hard time if renting works for you. It’s certainly cheaper, and anything calling itself “Affordable-ish Housing” should acknowledge that fact.
EAST END
For sale: 968 Greenfield Ave., Greenfield, $200,000
There’s a school of thought, prevalent in certain social media comment sections, that maintains saying anything nice about anywhere in Pittsburgh is a conspiracy to get people to move there, buy up everything, and make it unaffordable. Keep Pittsburgh shitty! So, in that spirit, I will only say mean things about Greenfield (where I live). Greenfield can’t seem to get a single good restaurant, while nearby Squirrel Hill is like, “Hmm … are we in the mood for Thai/Laotian? Szechuan? Korean pastries? Liege waffles? I can’t decide.” In Greenfield we have several pedestrian-friendly business districts and just fill them with tanning booths and vape shops! And sometimes in the spring I leave the windows open at night and the BIRDS ARE CHIRPING TOO LOUD AT 5 A.M.! And, uh, yeah, that’s it. I’ve got nothing; it’s a nice place.
Many months ago, someone responded online to a mention of Squirrel Hill in this column by calling it “just a giant generic suburb” and, like … huh? Well, it’s not Manhattan! If that’s your standard, then Squirrel Hill just has too many, uh, squirrels or something to be a real city neighborhood. However, this building, the massive Morrowfield, does look like something you’d find in less ritzy parts of Manhattan. It takes up entire city blocks and contains an entire neighborhood’s worth of retail at ground level. It would be good for Pittsburgh to have a few more of these, but that’s unlikely. People say they want affordable housing … just somewhere else, please (so our home values stay high). Anyway, $845/month will probably get you an unheated pigeon coop on a roof in Manhattan, or maybe a balcony (just a balcony).
WEST END
For sale: 815 Dubois St., Crafton Heights, $47,500
You’ve got to tip your Buccos ‘70s pillbox ballcap to a place like this in all its Yinzer-tastic glory. Wood-paneling in the basement, just like grandma’s house! A street that’s probably pronounced “Doo-Boys” not like it was French at one point. Photos that seem staged to indicate a recent robbery, or at least Grand Theft Yuenglings from the fridge. Zero attempts to cater to current tastes! I kind of love this, but yeah, you should probably assume it needs a lot of work.
For rent: 917 Dale St., Westwood, $950/month
Is the West End … the Best End? Maybe when it comes to cheap rent, and ice cream (Antney’s, the only truly important information on this page). In the summer, that’s enough. Central air, lots of shady trees, space for a garden — summer is coming, and the sleepy corner of the city called Westwood could be the low-key answer.
NORTH SIDE
For sale: 1815 Diana St., Spring Hill, $87,000
If affordability is your primary consideration, there are still options! Not like, a lot, and probably not where you were looking. If this were in Lawrenceville, it would be four times as much. Yes, it’s not much to look at, but replacing the blinds and maybe doing something with that dangling drainpipe out front might help? (I’m not a decorator; help me out here). If it keeps the cold out, has a door that locks, and room for your record collection, then is that sort of enough?
For rent: 38 Rostock St., Spring Hill, $1,000/month
North Side! “You know what it is/Steep and narrow/Steep and narrow.” I bleed black and gold too, but never once have I been tempted to just paint my house those colors. But if such an overt display of fandom would tip the scales of the universe just enough to result in meaningful Buccos games in August, I’d consider it. Three bedrooms, 980 square feet, zero reasons to haul a lawnmower up a hill.
