Pittsburgh Foreclosure Homes and Neighborhood Development
September 24th, 2009 by 
Joseph Smith
A number of Pittsburgh foreclosure homes remained in good condition because of the Pennsylvania city’s focus on neighborhood development programs.
According to industry experts, the city has beautiful housing stock, well preserved and rehabilitated. And the houses, which typically sell for 500,000, are now available for lower prices.
Experts said that the transformation of Pittsburgh into a city of decay to a health services and high-technology hub may provide lessons to other cities and towns. The city survived the collapse of its steel industry and the subsequent massive job loss.
Pittsburgh’s unemployment rate of 7.8 percent was low compared with other cities across the country, and about 2 percent less than the total national average. In addition, the number of Pittsburgh foreclosure homes was among the lowest.
Industry experts said that Pittsburgh brings forth the message that the right leadership and support can help a city rise from the ashes of a major economic decline. Furthermore, the city also provides a lesson of being proactive and not to wait too long for things to go back to normal.
The city of Pittsburgh was severely affected by overseas competition, national recession and new technology which resulted to the collapse of the steel industry. About 120,000 jobs were lost in the manufacturing sector since 1981 to 1984.
Because jobs were difficult to come by in the city, many young workers left Pittsburgh, resulting to a major demographic shift. Today, Pittsburgh is the only city in the country where the number of deaths surpassed births annually. The road to recovery for the city was made easy by some strategy, fortuitous circumstances and luck.
The luck part was provided by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Both universities offered research talent and serve as business incubators. For strategy, Pittsburgh focused on neighborhood development. Its Mainstreets Pittsburgh initiative has provided funds for façade renewal and building restoration.
Furthermore, the city preserved its parks, changed laws covering land use and reclaimed old industrial sites. Two years ago, Pittsburgh was chosen as the most livable city in the United States.
According to industry experts, the city benefited from the loyalty of residents. Instead of relocating after the collapse of the steel industry, many suppliers diversified or sought other markets.
