http://www.pittcondos.com city living made easy Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:03:04 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Back in 2006, it seemed as if there was an announcement that a real estate company or local building owner was contemplating converting a building to condos (or starting a new building with condominiums) almost every week.  In 2008, as the nation moved into the second (or perhaps third) year ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2009/08/21/condo-projects-proceed/ The DOC-Economou project near Shadyside that stalled this past winter because of opposition from community groups hasn't gotten back on track. Apparently, three developers showed interest in the former Don Allen site in Bloomfield back in April, but I have seen nothing about further progress in developing the site. ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2009/08/21/stalled-projects/ The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported today that community groups which opposed the development of Baum-Liberty back in December have extended an offer indicating their interest in compromising with the developer to put the project back on track. Back in December, DOC-ECONOMOU, the developer of the site, withdrew their proposal for ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2009/01/28/community-groups-indicate-interest-in-don-allen-site-compromise/ The Pittsburgh Business Times reported that a local developer is seeking approval for a five story condominium project on the 5600 Block of Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill.  The current plan, according to the paper, is for four homes to be demolished and replaced with up to 25 condos. Read more ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2009/01/26/squirrel-hill-condos-planned-for-5637-forbes/ A few news articles recently have discussed the idea that prices on "green" properties are holding up better in today's real estate market.  As the current economic climate encourages home buyers to look deeper into their finances before buying a property, they are choosing to go with smaller homes and ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2009/01/08/buyers-expected-to-go-green/ The Post-Gazette had an article earlier this week suggesting that the long planned redevelopment of the Fifth and Forbes corridor may be "poised to turn the corner" in 2009.  It also discusses the plans of a number of the other property owners in the area for their buildings.  Among the ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2009/01/08/fifth-forbes-corridor-poised/ It's only a few days into the new year and already newspaper columnists and real estate professionals are predicting what will be hot and what's not in home design for 2009.  While some of these home decorating trends are more relevant to houses rather than condos, there's still much to ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2009/01/07/home-design-for-2009/ Business Week published its 2nd Annual "Best Places in America to Raise Kids" in November of 2008.  This year they decided to chose the top place in all 50 states and our hometown, Pittsburgh, was the champion in Pennsylvania.  Criteria included: affordability, diversity, school performance, job growth, crime rate and air ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2009/01/06/pittsburgh-best-place-in-pa-to-raise-kids/ With all the turbulence and losses in stocks and bad economic news in the headlines lately, you can easily lose perspective on what's really going on in the real estate sector. For example, new mortgage applications increased last week by 12 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications from people ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2009/01/04/housing-market-not-the-stock-market/ The proposed $230 million Baum Liberty project in Bloomfield has been put on hold while developers continue negotiations with neighborhood groups from Bloomfield, Friendship and Shadyside.  The proposals for zoning variances for the seven story hotel, retail, and condominium building, across the street from the former site of the Don ... http://www.pittcondos.com/2008/12/15/baum-liberty-on-hold/