Should-Read: Mark Belko: As new apartments are built around Pittsburgh, older stock is feeling the pressure

Should-Read: Supply and demand works for housing markets: add more housing while keeping the desirability of the metropolitan area in the eyes of the well-off constant, and housing prices fall. Of course, more housing and the resulting density can raise the desirability of the metropolitan area in the eyes of the well-off: Mark Belko: As new apartments are built around Pittsburgh, older stock is feeling the pressure: “Pittsburgh is in the midst of a supply surge, with about 4,600 units being built within the last three years…

…more than in the previous 15 years combined. Another 3,479 units are set to be completed in the next two years…. The biggest impact could be on older apartment buildings, which may have a hard time competing, according to the report…. CBRE cited the 2004-built Flats at Southside Works. Occupancy hit 99 percent in 2010 and the average rent peaked at $1.80 a square foot in 2014. Faced with competition from the newer Hot Metal Flats and Southside Works City Apartments, the complex is now 71 percent occupied with rents of $1.73 a square foot, according to the report…. While Walnut Capital hasn’t experience a significant drop in occupancy, it has become an issue among landlords, Mr. Reidbord noted. “Unless you have something better to offer in the older apartments, you’re going to be subject to competition from new apartments,” he said…