10 Cities Unaffected by a Bad Economy
By Jason Notte http://www.thestreet.com/story/11110098/10/10-cities-unaffected-by-a-bad-economy.html

Pittsburgh, Pa.
Reported GDP in 2009: $103.5 billion
Reported GDP today: $111.6 billion
Unemployment: 7.4%
Population change 2000-10: -8.6%
Yes, the city’s shrinking, but those who are staying are employed and generally happy about it. The University of Pittsburgh and its medical center still provide most of the job base and U.S. Steel(X) and PPG Industries(PPG) still give the cities ties to its industrial roots, but PNC Financial Services’(PNC) growth and Google’s(GOOG) expanding presence are the biggest symbols of a continuing shift toward the tech sector that mixes new businesses with old stalwarts such as H.J. Heinz(HNZ) and Dick’s Sporting Goods(DKS). There are now roughly 1,600 tech companies in Pittsburgh taking up space in former mills and industrial plants, and combined with championships for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins in the past three years (a Major League Baseball team is rumored to call the city home as well), that’s a lot for Pittsburgh to be proud of.

2011 MSN Real Estate Most Livable Bargain Markets

3. Pittsburgh

Smaller. Smarter. Younger. Those are words you could use to describe Pittsburgh today. After 50 years of population loss, this former steel town is now growing again, as its economy has diversified into fields such as biotechnology, health care and software.

Several large research universities in the city are driving this growth — Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University and the University of Pittsburgh. High educational attainment along with a large number of bookstores, libraries and newspaper subscribers help rank Pittsburgh as one of the most literate cities in the U.S. in a study by Central Connecticut State University.

Endowments from Pittsburgh’s industrial barons support its libraries, theaters and major museums, including one for that local pioneer of pop culture, Andy Warhol.

The city is also sports rich, with professional teams including the MLB’s Pirates, NFL’s Steelers and NHL’s Penguins. And there’s no shortage of hiking and biking trails, says real-estate agent Liz Caplan of Re/Max Realty Brokers.

“Every neighborhood has wonderful resources for hiking and biking or (is) close to resources for hiking and biking, even the urban neighborhoods,” she says.

This architecture-rich city also is affordable. Housing in Pittsburgh didn’t experience a bust like many other areas. Home values appreciated at about the same rate as income. Indeed, the city’s peak for prices was posted in the third quarter of 2010.

Retirees love it because there’s no state tax on money withdrawn from pensions.  And locals can get a 10-year break on its high property taxes if they move to new construction downtown.

“That’s a huge attraction,” Caplan says.

There’s also a high concentration of physicians, specialists and hospital beds. But the city is still working on cleaning its air. Trapped automobile exhaust in the steep Allegheny valleys has contributed to some of the highest levels of air-particle pollution in the country.

Cons: Pollution, older population, high property taxes, gray weather, snowy winters.

• Population: 2.3 million
• Affordability index: 2.8
• Unemployment: 7.46%
• Job growth: 0%
• Median home price: $124,200
• Cost-of-living index: 87.8
• Median household income: $47,600
• Average commute time: 27.8 minutes
• Commutes longer than an hour: 7.2%

What people are looking for when they relocate changes from time to time. In the 90s, it was a city with low crime. Then, it was places with good schools.

“These days, you want a job and to make sure you can get a house there,” said Bert Sperling of BestPlaces.net, which helps people find the best places to live, work or retire.

Sperling crunched the numbers to find the 10 best cities to relocate to today. The list takes into consideration all kinds of data points from cost of living to crime rates, the number of colleges and how healthy the population is, as well as access to museums, shows, sporting and other events. Plus, one you might not think of – stability. Read More→

Yet another reason that the Pittsburgh market is a great place to invest in real estate. Read an excerpt from the article here…. Read More→

Here is an excerpt from the article

America’s Best Housing Markets

Francesca Levy, 02.19.10, 04:50 PM EST

Low foreclosures, rising home prices and affordability make these parts of the country good bets for home buyers. Read More→

Moody’s: Pittsburgh’s commercial real estate market tops 100 other metros

Pittsburgh Business Times – by Ben Semmes

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bsemmes@Bizjournals.com | (412) 208-3829

America’s Strongest Housing Markets Read More→

For Pittsburgh, There’s Life After Steel