🏠 If You Live in Pittsburgh, Read This
The U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday. By Monday morning, Pittsburgh felt it at the pump, in the bond market, and in the cost of goods moving through the manufacturing corridor.
Most people are watching the news. We ran the numbers.
Gas prices. Mortgage rates. Your monthly payment on a $245K home. Heating costs. Groceries. Steel. And the one line item that actually works in Pittsburgh's favor right now.
Seven line items. All local. All accounted for.
📰 Big Stories
The Pentagon quietly cut five military AI fellowships at Carnegie Mellon — no press conference, no explanation. The Army's own AI research center sits on the same campus. CMU has more defense contracts than almost any university in the country. This one isn't over.
NFL Draft fan registration opened this week. Free tickets. Fifty days out. If you want to be on the ground in Pittsburgh for one of the biggest events this city has ever hosted, the window is open right now — and it won't stay that way long.
Aaron Rodgers still hasn't decided anything. Every team that needed a quarterback has moved on. He's still thinking. At some point the thinking becomes the answer.
📊 What Changed This Week — Pittsburgh Edition (Residential · Last 7 Days)
601 new listings — inventory is surging. The spring market isn't coming. It's here.
523 sold, 464 contingent, 238 under contract — over 1,200 homes either closed or are in motion. This market is not quiet.
493 price cuts vs. 13 increases — sellers who overreached are adjusting fast. The homes priced right aren't the ones cutting.
98 back on market — a deal fell through on that house you loved. It happens more than people think. Check again.
Rates: 30-year fixed at 6.07%. FHA at 5.67%. VA at 5.69%. The sub-6% window opened and closed in the same week.
Homeowners: 601 new listings in seven days means your competition just showed up. Do you want to be early or part of the crowd?
Buyers: 493 price cuts tells you negotiating room exists. But 464 contingents tells you the good ones aren't sitting. Pre-approval isn't paperwork — it's what lets you move when the right house shows up.
👇 👇 👇 👇
For the buyer: The market just handed you a contradiction. More inventory than last month, but over 1,200 homes already in motion. The options are there. So is the competition. The buyers who get hurt this spring are the ones who took their time on the right house.
For the seller: 493 price cuts in seven days is the market sending a message. It's not collapsing — it's disciplining bad pricing fast. The homes not cutting are the ones that came in right on day one. You get one first impression. Use it correctly.
For the renter: Rates are at 6.07%. That sounds high until you run the actual math. On a $245K Pittsburgh home with 5% down, you're looking at roughly $1,400 a month — principal and interest. What are you paying in rent right now? The gap may be smaller than you think, and unlike rent, that number doesn't go up every year.
🏙️ Pittsburgh IRL
The Pirates are 6-2 in spring training. Paul Skenes told Pat McAfee this week "it's a different vibe in camp right now." Konnor Griffin — the consensus best prospect in baseball — is hitting home runs and MLB insiders are calling him "the hitting version of Paul Skenes." The whole baseball world is watching. We know it's spring training. We know it's the Pirates. We know how this goes. But for right now, in the first week of March, the sun is out in Bradenton and the Pirates are in first place. Enjoy it.
Jean-Marc Chatellier announced he's stepping back from his Highland Park bakery after 25 years. If you've ever bought a birthday cake, a croissant, or a kouign-amann from that shop on Bryant Street, you already know what this means. Some places are just part of how a neighborhood feels.
Arts Landing is nearly ready. The $31 million civic space in the Cultural District is on track for a soft open before the NFL Draft in April — great lawn, bandshell large enough for a full symphony, Pittsburgh's only downtown playground. The city is physically changing in front of you right now.
It's Lent. You know what that means. [→ Fish Fry Map]
‘Rat in the Tap’ - Someone quite literally found a rat in Urban Tap (Southside). I'm not going to say anything else about that but the thing was friggin’ huge
🗓️ Weekend Picks
Home & Garden Show — All weekend at the Convention Center. If you've been thinking about buying, selling, or finally doing something about the kitchen, this is the most useful Saturday you can spend in Pittsburgh right now.
Penguins vs. Flyers — Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena. Rivalry game, playoff race, Crosby still out. Every point matters. Show up.
Matt McCusker — At the Arcade Comedy Theater this weekend. If you know Shane Gillis, you know McCusker. If you don't, this is how Pittsburgh people find out.
Clemente Museum WBC Watch Party — Puerto Rico plays in the World Baseball Classic this weekend and the Clemente Museum is hosting a watch party. Roberto Clemente. Puerto Rico. Baseball. Only in Pittsburgh does this make perfect sense.
And mark your calendar — the St. Patrick's Day Parade is March 14. Grand marshal announced. 200,000 people expected. Downtown will not be quiet.
🏡 Yinz Gotta See This
This one made me pause mid-scroll. That doesn't happen often.
It's the kind of house that's elegant without trying to tell you it's elegant. Sophisticated, warm, tastefully styled — the exterior alone stops you. White cedar shingle, stone, those burnt orange shutters, mature landscaping that took decades to look exactly like this. And then the trees. That's what makes Fox Chapel feel the way it feels — trees everywhere, fully grown, completely surrounding you. Private. Exclusive. Like the rest of the world just got a little quieter.
Step inside and the den does the rest of the selling. Floor-to-ceiling walnut millwork, built-in shelves, a Victorian gas fireplace, a tufted navy sofa. Moody and classic. The kind of room you don't leave.
If I wanted to leave the city — really leave it — and escape to somewhere private and exceptional, this is where I'd go. If money were no object, I'd be here.
Most of you aren't buying a Fox Chapel estate.
But you are living somewhere.
And the same principles apply: Positioning. Scarcity. Timing.
If you're curious... If you're quietly wondering what your home is worth right now, or whether the Iran news changes your timeline, or if this spring is finally your moment…
You don't need a presentation. You need a real conversation.
I'm here for that.
