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An Ongoing Column Offering News, Advice, and Observations: All About The Real Estate Market in Pittsburgh, PA.

A Change for Tax Appeals
Can you explain what is going on in Allegheny with property tax assessments? It’s big news! For property tax appeals in 2023, the PA State Tax Equalization Board has set the common level ration at 63.6%. This is dramatically less than the 81.6% in effect for 2022. ...

Sounds Too Good To Be True
We would like to buy a new home soon but interest rates seem very high – we see advertisements for internet lenders offering what seem to be below market rates. Is this too good to be true? If you were simply refinancing an existing mortgage debt, you MAY be ok...

Holiday Decor When Trying To Sell
Our home is on the market – is it ok to show it decorated for the holidays? Decorating for the holidays while your home is on the market is not a bad idea – homes often look their best decorated for the holidays – as long as a few basic guidelines are followed....

Don’t Let the Interest Rates Stop You
Interest rates jumped up again. Is it time for us to just wait until spring and hope they start to come back down? If you are a buyer, the real estate market offers you a great opportunity right now! Don’t be fooled by the higher interest rates – this is an awesome...

The Value of a Deep Clean
Do we really have to have our home professionally deep cleaned before putting it on the market? The short answer is yes, but here is why! When we live in our homes, we don’t see the dirt and the grime build up. Even if you have your home cleaned every week, it is...

A Market Shift
We see recent projections forecast a housing downturn. What do you think? You are correct – Goldman Sachs recently released a paper forecasting that the US housing market will see a downturn. Their reports predicts that new home sales will drop 22%, existing home...

Understanding the Home Inspection
We find the inspection process confusing – do we have to fix everything in the inspection report before we close on our home or just the repairs the buyer requested?The home inspection report is the document from which your buyer works to make their repair requests of...
Timeless Updates
We aren’t ready to move but want to update our home – what are the best choices for paint colors and flooring changes, assuming we may want to move in the next few years? New paint colors must harmonize with the rest of your home, unless you plan to repaint the entire...
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