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With 2002 setting the all-time national record for new house sales at 976,000, the nation's home builders -- including those in the Pittsburgh region -- are looking for sales to continue strong in 2003.

And predictions from the National Association of Home Builders are that this year will be the second-best year for sales nationally, topping the 908,000 previous record in 2001.

Al Crawford of Wellington Homes in Butler County expects the Pittsburgh area will share in the strong housing market after experiencing a 10 percent increase in single-family housing starts last year.

According to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau, communities in the region had permit applications for 5,223 single-family houses during 2002, a 9.3 percent increase over the 4,777 for the same period last year.

However, actual starts were below permit figures, with 3,055 single-family housing starts in 2002, a 6.8 percent increase over 2,861 in 2001, said Jeff Burd, president of Pittsburgh Construction News.

Burd said new starts could increase to about 3,125 in 2003, but that starts of multifamily housing could decline from 1,873 last year to about 1,500.

His company said there were 1,299 single-family housing units built in Allegheny County last year, with Westmoreland County reporting 589. Next was Butler County with 480, followed by Washington County with 451, Beaver County with 149 and Fayette County, 87.

Crawford, 2003 president of the Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, said local builders probably will continue a trend of building quads -- four housing units connected together -- as new buyers seek more convenience and low-or-no-maintenance chores in their homes.

Many of these houses will have first-floor master bedroom suites, a testimony to the convenience many members of the boomer generation and empty-nesters now seek.

He predicts new housing activity will continue to be strong in the North Hills, particularly in Butler County and the Treesdale development (spanning Allegheny and Butler counties;) in Murrysville and Plum in the east; in Mt. Lebanon and Peters along with Nevillewood in the south; and in Moon in the west. Also, within the city of Pittsburgh, he expects new housing activity to be strong in Summerset (Nine Mile Run) and in the South Side.

Burd's firm said in 2002, the city of Pittsburgh had the highest number of new single-family houses built -- both attached and detached -- at 568, followed by Adams in Butler County with 260.

And many present homeowners will be making improvements in their homes, which means another strong year for remodelers, Crawford added.

The possibility of war with Iraq and the nation's uncertain economic condition will probably cause a slight decline in new housing production this year in Westmoreland County, said Donald Paulone, president, Donald Paulone Custom Homes in Greensburg.

But overall, new housing construction will still be strong, he said.

"We expect housing starts in Washington County will remain about the same as last year, which was pretty good," said Tim Corbett of Highland Enterprises in North Strabane, president of the Washington County Builders Association.

He said people have not been out looking at new housing this year, but he blames that on the harsh winter. He expects spring will see an increase in activity.

Tom DiOrio, vice president Mid-East region for Ryan Homes, believes new housing starts will remain at the same rate as 2002, although he said more empty nesters, whose children have left home, will be in the market for houses that provide low maintenance features.

Even though mortgage interest rates could increase slightly later this year, that should not halt the strong resale market of housing in this region, adds Chris Murphy, president of the Realtors Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh.

Figures released by RealSTATs, a South Side-based firm that tracts house sales in a five-county Pittsburgh region, show there were 28,434 existing houses sold last year, up 6.3 percent from the 26,748 in 2001. Add all residential sales and the totals reached 31,244 last year, up from 29,089 in 2001.

However, West Penn Multi-List, whose members sell about 60 percent of all house sales in the region, reports sales of 21,440 houses last year, a 1.8 percent increase over the 21,056 sales for 2001 for the six-county region.

Nationally, the 5.56 million house sales last year set a new record, up 5 percent from the 5.29 million in 2001, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Murphy said Adams in Butler County remains a strong area for house sales, but the lack of sufficient water and sewer facilities could hamper future housing starts there.

Helen Hanna Casey, president, West Penn Multi-List, said rates on 30-year mortgages should remain in the low 5 percent percent range during the first half of 2003, but she expects rates could climb slightly higher by year-end.

Casey, president of Howard Hanna Real Estate, expects local housing prices will continue to rise, perhaps 3 percent this year instead of the 5 percent experienced the past two years.

One new trend is the launching of IDX (Internet Data Exchange), a program by which house listings from one agency can be included on another agency's website.

This activity, launched through West Penn Multi-List will, for example, will allow Prudential Preferred Realty to show all listings from Howard Hanna, Coldwell Banker or any other company, if they all sign up to participate, said Murphy, co-owner of Re/Max Select Realty in the North Hills. It would be the same for other companies with Prudential and other listings.

With the stock market still in flux, many investors may continue the practice last year of investing their money residential real estate, experts said. That includes upgrading or purchasing a second or vacation home as an investment in anticipation the value of the house will increase.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Housing Authority plans to continue efforts to give its public housing a new look.

Instead of maintaining the high-rise, isolated communities of the past, the Authority will demolish the older structures and in their place build townhouses, single-family houses and mid-rise apartments with elevators, said Harvey Young, the authority's chief operating officer.

With most of the work completed in converting the 1,700-unit Allequippa Terrace (Hill District) to a combination of 800 rental and homeownership units, plans were in progress to do the same at Bedford Dwellings, also in the Hill. However, lack of federal funds could delay Bedford.

Separately, construction may begin this year on a three-story apartment complex, and 16 single-family bungalows for the elderly in the former Stanton Heights Shopping Center site in that section of the city. And there are future plans for a 40-unit mid-rise at the former Eat 'n Park Restaurant site on Penn Avenue, East Liberty, he said. Both will provide housing for elderly residents now in the Garfield Heights Elderly Apartment, which will be demolished.

And officials of the Allegheny County Housing Authority say they also will continue a similar program, of replacing older, isolated housing projects in Homestead, McKees Rocks and other communities.

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