🎄 It’s Time. (But Also, Maybe Not Yet.)

Nov. 7th, 2025 Edition | Read Online

November hits like a leftover hangover — colder mornings, darker evenings, and a city slowly trading open houses for open bottles of cabernet. The Halloween chaos is over, the holiday excuses are starting, and half the industry’s already calling it a year.

Cool. Let them.

Because this is where the pros eat.
The “holiday cool down” is just code for less competition, quieter inboxes, and more leverage for the ones still paying attention. The market’s not dead — it’s just clearing the stage.

If you’re new here — I’m Tim Pettigrew, Pittsburgh’s Go-To Realtor, Expert in Luxury Homes & Strategic Real Estate Solutions. Every week, I break down what’s really happening in the 412 (and beyond):
🏡 Market Watch – where the numbers meet reality
🔥 Yinz Gotta See This – this week’s showstopper property
🖤💛 Pittsburgh Life – what the city’s buzzing about
🎡 Weekend Radar – what to do once you close the laptop

So grab your coffee, your cardigan, and your competitive edge — we’re diving into the calm before the cranberry storm.

🏡 Market Watch

You want to sneak in one last fall trip… but the FAA just told airlines to trim flying in ~40 high-volume markets by about 10% because air-traffic controller staffing is stretched during the shutdown. Delays and targeted cancellations are already hitting major hubs. That’s not “somebody else’s problem”—that’s the macro mood you feel everywhere right now.

Rates (today)

• 30-yr fixed: 6.32% (▲ 0.03%)

• 15-yr fixed: 5.82% (—)

• FHA: 6.03% (▲ 0.01%)

• Jumbo: 6.40% (—)

• 7/6 SOFR ARM: 6.01% (▼ 0.02%)

• VA: 6.04% (▲ 0.01%)

Allegheny County (last 7 days)

• 🏠 New listings: 623

• 🔻 Price reductions: 789

• ✅ Sold: 605

• 📉 Contingent/Under contract: 500 / 267

• 💰 Median sale price: $235K | SP/LP: 97.96%

• ⏱ DOM: 28 median | 45 avg

What the shutdown means for real estate

• Loans can still close—but some lanes slow.

  • FHA/VA file flow is slower, especially for newer entrants.

  • USDA guarantee work is mostly paused until the funding resumes.

  • IRS transcripts (4506-C/IVES) are still available, but some lenders build in buffers.

• Rates vs. the Fed: The Fed cut rates, yes—but mortgages follow bond yields. When a shutdown raises deficit/inflation concerns, 10-yr Treasuries creep up and mortgages drift too.

• Insurance & certifications: Flood insurance renewals/new policy work can be delayed mid-shutdown; condo assignments and NFIP dependents might need extra time.

My read

• Supply is thinning (seasonal + sellers tapping brakes), buyers are selective, and price cuts are doing heavy lifting where listings overshot.

• No panic, no cliff. Just a holiday cool-down with federal noise in the background.

💬 Translation

A little turbulence at the airport, a little drag in loan ops, but Pittsburgh housing is still moving. If you’re writing a contract: lock a rate you like, build in a bit of time cushion for underwriting (especially USDA/condo/NFIP cases), and price with today—not July—comps.

📚 Must-Read This Week

• How a government shutdown complicates home loans

• Mortgage rates rise—even though the Fed just cut rates

🏠 Yinz. Gotta See This — If Grandma Had a Trust Fund and a 7-Car Garage

“Over the hill and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go…”
cough cough — yeah, if she’s rich AF.

Because while most of us are trying to figure out how to afford Thanksgiving dinner without refinancing our cars, there’s a whole other league of “holiday travelers” pulling up to Grandma’s 11-acre Tudor estate in Penn Township.

You know the market’s weird when the government’s half shut down, the FAA’s short on staff, and someone’s still out here listing a home with a wine cellar bigger than your kitchen.

Welcome to 104-102 Thornbrook Drive, where “estate living” isn’t a concept — it’s a seven-fireplace lifestyle that laughs in the face of rate hikes.

This place is the kind of luxury that makes you wonder if you took a wrong turn off the turnpike and accidentally drove into an episode of Succession. It’s all manicured stonework, towering chimneys, and “I don’t check my Venmo balance” energy.

If Zillow had a “flex on your friends” filter, this would be it.

⚡ Quick Hits

• 💰 List Price: $3,250,000

• 🛏 7 Bedrooms 🛁 5 Full + 3 Half Baths

• 🧱 Tudor Style | 7,500+ sq ft | 11 Acres

• 🚗 Garage: Seven. Because two is for peasants.

• 🍷 Stone Wine Cellar + Tasting Room (yes, plural cellars should be a thing)

• 🐴 8-Stall Barn + Carriage House with its own fireplace

• ⚡ Whole-Estate Generator (because the power grid is for regular people)

• 🏫 Knoch School District

This isn’t “dream home” energy — it’s “the economy collapsed, but at least the cellar’s stocked” energy.

🖼️ Tour the castle: View Listing
🎥 Watch the cinematic walk-through: Video Tour

💭 Moral of the story: while the rest of us are watching rates inch up and debating generic vs. name-brand turkey, Thornbrook Drive’s got its own economy — and probably its own currency.

🌆 Pittsburgh Life — If You Thought the Housing Market Was Slow, Try the Parkway East

📝 Fair warning: this section’s a long one.
Usually I’m scraping through my camera roll and notes app trying to remember what the hell happened this week. But this time? Oh, I came prepared.
I’ve been saving stories all week like your mom saving Cool Whip containers — and you’re getting every bit of it.

After touring a 7-car garage and 11-acre driveway, you might be tempted to think Pittsburghers have it easy.
Yeah, not so fast — because back here in reality, we’re all still trying to get through the Fort Pitt Tunnel without questioning our life choices.

🚨 TRAFFIC IS OFFICIALLY WORSE THAN EVER.
If it feels like you’ve spent more time on the Parkway than in your own living room lately, you’re not wrong. Pittsburgh commuters wasted 17 million gallons of gas last year just idling — about 20 gallons per driver.

The average driver lost 53 hours in traffic in 2024 — the highest since tracking began. Rush hour’s back (7–9 a.m. and 2–6 p.m.), and now we’ve even got midday gridlock thanks to hybrid work.

The only thing moving slower than the cars? Congress.

🏙️ Meanwhile Downtown:
The $15 million Market Square Modernization Project just entered its next phase — so if you love detours, fencing, and pedestrians pretending they know where they’re going, this is your Super Bowl.

And up north, the Meridian redevelopment is leveling up with a new J.Crew Factory — because nothing says economic growth like discounted cable-knit sweaters.

🚓 On the brighter side:
Pittsburgh just welcomed 38 new police recruits who’ll train 30 weeks before hitting the streets. Congrats to Class 25-02 — may your first assignment not involve the Squirrel Hill Tunnel.

🍽️ Food & Fun Bits:

• 🥂 Poulet Bleu is back open — and that’s the comeback we needed.

• 🍣 Sushi Tomo is now slinging rolls and sake on E. Carson St — a rare win for South Side.

• 💡 Light Up Night 2025 kicks off this week — the official start of holiday magic, gridlock, and trying to parallel park on Penn Ave. (Full schedule here)

🔥 Translation: Pittsburgh’s glowing, growing, and gridlocking — all at once. But at least when you’re stuck on the Parkway, the skyline looks incredible in Christmas lights.

🏈 ‘Burgh Football — Chaos, Hope & Heartburn

Let’s talk football.

🏫 Pitt vs. Notre Dame — Saturday at 12 PM

It’s a BIG one this weekend. The Panthers take on the Irish, and honestly, “Irish for another win” feels too on the nose. But hey — if Mason Heintschel shows up under the lights (he won’t.. it’s daylight hours) like he’s supposed to, this could be the kind of statement game Pitt’s been starving for.

🚨 ALERT: If you’re thinking about taking that “tasty little stroll through downtown” Saturday morning, thinking it’ll be fun and cute — it won’t.
It’ll suck.
Traffic will be a disaster. Parking will be nonexistent. And if you end up stuck in a jam? Well… f*** you, I told you so 🖕

🖤💛 Steelers vs. Chargers — Sunday Night, 8:20 PM (West Coast)

I still can’t believe we won last week. Like… how? That was the most Tomlin thing ever.
We weren’t supposed to win — we shouldn’t have won — and yet somehow, we’re out here shutting down one of the league’s top offenses while our offense remembered what a touchdown looks like.

You know what that means?
Steelers Super Bowl. I said it. Let’s go ‘Lers.

🚨 ALERT: Late game, people. 8:20 PM kickoff. You already know what that means — half of Pittsburgh’s calling off Monday “sick.”
Pros: You actually have time to go to Target or Costco with your girlfriend, wife, fiancé, or side piece before the game.
Cons: …You actually have to go to Target or Costco with your girlfriend, wife, fiancé, or side piece.

💬 Prediction: Pitt pulls the upset. Steelers win ugly (again). And Pittsburgh collectively runs on caffeine, hangovers, and delusion until Tuesday.

🎡 Weekend Radar — What’s Rolling This Weekend

You’ve survived the Parkway, dodged construction cones, and maybe even made it through Costco with your relationship intact — congrats.
Now it’s time to actually enjoy the weekend.
This part’s shorter (promise), because I know you’re still recovering from that Pittsburgh Life rant above.

🎶 Big Shows & Live Music

• 🎸 Billy Strings @ PPG Paints Arena — Friday & Saturday, Nov 7–8 | 7:30 PM
  Bluegrass meets jam-band chaos. If you’ve never seen him live, think: tie-dye crowd, virtuoso guitar, and an energy level that’ll make you question your caffeine tolerance.

• 🎤 Daughtry + Seether @ UPMC Events Center — Saturday, Nov 8 | 7:00 PM
  A dose of 2000s nostalgia and distortion-heavy rock for anyone who misses eyeliner, radio hits, and simpler times.

🏙️ Local Flavor & City Highlights

• 🖼️ Andy Warhol: Vanitas Members Event — Sat Nov 8 | 6–9 PM @ The Warhol Museum
  Pop art meets existential dread. Dress in black and pretend you “get it.”

• 🎨 Pittsburgh Vintage Mixer — Sat Nov 8 | All Day @ David L. Lawrence Convention Center
  Vinyl, retro furniture, and weirdly expensive Pyrex. It’s like your grandma’s attic, but cool.

• 🎓 AFRICANISM Gala — Sat Nov 8
  High style, high energy, and a showcase of Black culture in motion. One of the city’s best annual nights out.

• 🌘 SkyWatch @ Carnegie Science Center — Sat Nov 8 | 9–11 PM
  Telescopes, stars, and that awkward moment when you realize Jupiter looks better than your dating life.

• 🎪 Holiday Bazaar @ Wildwood Golf Club — Sun Nov 9 | 10 AM–2 PM
  Local vendors, early Christmas decor, and a head start on buying things you’ll forget to wrap.

✨ Still want more?
See the full lineup here →

🔥 TL;DR:
If you’re not in traffic this weekend, you’re either at a concert, buying vintage glassware, or staring at Saturn through a telescope. Either way — it’s a good weekend to remember why we love this weird, wonderful city.