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THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP-County Council passed County Executive Dan Onorato’s latest assessment plan in October. Under the legislation, properties in the county will revert back to the 2002 base year. This suggests that appraisals should be dated as of the 2002 tax certification year. All of this is going to surely be subject to a court fight by opponents. Allegheny County property owners have until 12/31/2005 to file appeals for 2006. As a past Allegheny County assessment appeals hearing officer and case reviewer, Chief Appraiser Kevin J. Bowman was involved in thousands of cases, and has the experience to help you navigate through this difficult arena. Call us at 412-983-2400 for more important information.
OFFICE VACANCY RATES STILL RELATIVELY HIGH-Although the region’s overall office vacancy rate was essentially unchanged from a year ago, it still stands at about 20.7%. However, the suburbs had positive absorption of almost 400,000 square feet, according to Oxford Development. The suburbs essentially were the one bright spot in the commercial leasing field.
APARTMENT VACANCIES rose again in the Pittsburgh region. The rate for 2004 was 8.9%, rising from 7.1% in 2003. This was based upon a sampling of over 9000 units in the area. Continued low mortgage rates had a heavy impact on the figures, with many tenants becoming home-buyers. There are signs, however, that apartment demand may be coming back in the wake of rates trending higher.
NO BUBBLY FUN-The Pittsburgh market has escaped the inflated price bubbles seen in other markets. The relatively slow job growth in the region has helped to keep a lid on prices, purchasing power, and demand, at least according to PNC Bank and the Financial Services Group.
PITTSBURGH IS THE SAFEST MARKET-The PMI Index as promulgated by the PMI Mortgage Insurance Corp. indicates the housing markets most at risk for a price decline. The higher the figure, the greater the risk of a fall. Boston, at 55.3, has the highest chance for a price break. The market with the lowest chance of a fall among major metro areas? You guessed it-Pittsburgh, with just a 5.6 rating.
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Thanks for visiting, browsing the content of our current issue, and putting the resources of FIRST EQUITY APPRAISAL SERVICES to work for you. If you are new to our company and would like to learn more about valuation issues, please call us at 412-983-2400 or email us at questions@houseappraise.com
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