Isle Of Pittsburgh

Another casino for Pittsburgh? No, thankfully nothing of the sort is in the pipeline. Then again, gambling might have saved Dubuque, Iowa. I'm referring to the Pittsburgh residential real estate exception to the Pennsylvania rule:

The Pittsburgh area’s home prices rose 1.16 percent from April 2009 to April 2010, while prices in the Pennsylvania dropped 3.7 percent in the same period. Prices in the Philadelphia area fell 5.28 percent.

The Pittsburgh market has been relatively rosy throughout the recession concerning the entire country. Now, the metro is pulling away from the rest of the state. I think that's significant because Pennsylvania was well insulated from the foreclosure crisis. Pittsburgh real estate is much more than prudent home loans.

In absolute terms, there is no boom in Pittsburgh. That's irrelevant at this juncture. Historically, this is a mild recession for the city. That's not the case almost everyplace else. The attraction pressure continues to build.