Magazine ranks Sewickley Heights at 57 among richest

Western Pennsylvania has the richest housing community in Pennsylvania.

And the 981 residents of Sewickley Heights in Allegheny County aren't surprised their community was chosen.

Worth Magazine, a national publication that caters to the rich, in its May edition named its 250 richest communities in the nation and listed Sewickley Heights as No. 57.

The ranking is based on actual sales transactions for single-family houses during 2000 and 2001, ranked by median sales price, which is the price in the middle of all sales during that period. And for Sewickley Heights, that price was $950,250.

Neighboring Sewickley Borough is also ranked. Its 3,902 residents are in a community listed as 170th richest with a median sales price of $645,000.

The only other Pennsylvania communities listed were three Philadelphia suburbs: Haverford at 144th, with a median sales price of $677,500; Bryn Mawr, 185th with $621,250; and Gladwyne, 189th at $614,000.

The magazine said in some of these suburban Philadelphia communities, houses being sold are above the asking price.

"Bidding is less brisk in the Pittsburgh suburbs of Sewickley and Sewickley Heights for houses at the high end — above $1 million — but those in the midrange see consistent demand from executives at local companies such as Alcoa and H.J. Heinz," the magazine noted.

"Ready-to-live-in homes are the most popular among these executives on the move," it added.

The richest community in the nation, according to Worth, is Jupiter Island, Fla., where the residents have seen median home sales prices of $3,912,500.

There are 53 communities where the median house price is $1 million more, with most located in California or Florida.

Betty Moraca calls Sewickley Heights the premier area in the Pittsburgh region.

A real estate sales agent in Howard Hanna Real Estate's Sewickley office, she has negotiated numerous sales in that community, as well as in Sewickley, for the past 15 years.

"Our buyers there are corporate executives, professional athletes, physicians and lawyers," she said.

Among athletes who call Sewickley Heights their home are Jack Ham and Lynn Swann, both former Pittsburgh Steelers football players and both members of football's Hall of Fame.

Mario Lemieux, owner/player with the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey club, lives in Sewickley, adjacent to Edgeworth Club, she said.

"Along Blackburn Road, particularly close to Mt. Nebo Road, in Sewickley Heights, most houses are priced from $1 million," she said. Recently, former Penguins goalie Tom Barrasso sold his home there for $1.05 million.

But not all of the houses in Sewickley Heights command $1 million prices.

Houses along Quarry Road and those near neighboring Aleppo Township often sell for less than $200,000. In most cases, the land is valued higher than the house.

"There is a pocket of about a half-dozen smaller carriage-type houses along Scaife Road that also are less expensive, but yet within walking distance of houses that have sold for $1 million or higher," Moraca said. The lower-priced homes rarely are placed on the market, she added.

Carriage-type houses are smaller units that in the past housed servants or people employed by occupants of a larger, nearby house.

As for the high ranking of Sewickley, where some houses sell for more than $1 million while others are less pricey, Moraca believes the magazine may have included houses in Edgeworth, where the median is above $400,000.

"I explained to the reporter from the magazine that Edgeworth had higher-priced houses, but she apparently considered Edgeworth part of Sewickley," she said.

Another who was surprised neither Edgeworth nor Fox Chapel were listed by the magazine is William Rohe, Sewickley Heights manager.

Although he called the magazine article accurate concerning his community, Rohe said the owners of the approximate 300 homes in Sewickley Heights "reflect society as a whole."

Many of the lower-priced houses are located along Sewickley Heights Drive, which abuts Aleppo, he said. These houses are on zoned sites, roughly 1 acre in size, as are some houses along Quarry Drive, which abuts Sewickley.

Stephen Zupcic, who had lived in Sewickley Heights since 1950, recently sold his Quarry Road home, in order to move into property he owned in nearby Sewickley Hills. That property is next to his daughter.

Zupcic, who paid $8,000 when he bought the house, said he sold the house because it needed work. He didn't want to borrow money to fix it, especially after Allegheny County placed a $193,000 assessed value on his property.

The property eventually sold for $120,000.

"I really miss living there. I had privacy. Except for some families along Quarry Drive, I haven't noticed many children in the community," he said.