Pittsburgh launches 'Keep Pittsburgh Home' campaign to curb speculation and expand affordable housing

Mayor Ed Gainey announced a new “Keep Pittsburgh Home” campaign on Saturday, saying his administration will strengthen the city’s land bank, pursue new rules on short‑term rentals and target property wholesalers and private equity buyers that he said are driving displacement.

Gainey made the announcement at a press event in Garfield where he, community developers and elected officials highlighted a three‑home project developed on land provided by the city land bank. “I believe that everybody has a right to decent, affordable housing in this city,” Mayor Ed Gainey said.

The campaign, Gainey said, aims to “keep Pittsburgh home” by using public land and regulatory changes to stabilize neighborhoods. He said the administration has “deployed over $60,000,000 towards developing and protecting affordable housing” and cited a $30,000,000 housing bond and $36,000,000 in federal relief funding as part of the administration’s recent investments. Gainey also repeated figures on displacement the administration tracks, saying the city “has already lost more than 3,000 low income families” and that about 700 of those were Black homeowners.

At the event, Wayne Younger, executive director of Open Hand Ministries, described the Hillcrest Homes project — three houses built on land the organization received from the land bank in partnership with the Bloomfield Garfield Corporation. Younger said the project required financing from the Federal Home Loan Bank, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and individual donors, and that Open Hand Ministries pairs home construction with a family development program to prepare residents for mortgage readiness. “We are building these 3 homes as affordable home options for people who have lived in this community,” Younger said. “These houses are being built and they are not being cheaply built. They are being built and invested in so that people who come in will have equity that begins generational wealth.”

Councilman Kahari Mosley, whose district includes Garfield, described the housing situation as an “unprecedented crisis” that needs an “unprecedented coalition” of government, community partners and advocates. Mosley spoke in support of the local project and the broader campaign to expand affordable units and stem displacement.

Deputy Mayor Jake Pollack described planned changes to how the city regulates short‑term rentals such as Airbnb and Vrbo. “We have included short term rentals as part of the rental registry, which is in the process of moving towards full enforcement and implementation later this year,” Pollack said, and added the administration will announce additional policy details in the coming weeks. Pollack said the city is focusing on single‑family neighborhoods where short‑term rentals and wholesaling have the most impact.

Gainey and administration officials repeated city data they said show wholesalers and short‑term rentals are changing the housing market: the mayor said wholesalers represented about 25% of housing transactions in 2021 and that the city has roughly 4,000 short‑term rental listings, “80% of these short term rentals are run by absentee landlords who own multiple properties in our city.” The administration said these trends reduce available stock for prospective homeowners and compress affordability for renters.

Open Hand Ministries said prospective occupants for the Hillcrest Homes will be identified through the ministry’s family development program, which the organization described as a process to make residents mortgage‑ready before homes are offered. Journalists at the event were invited to tour the three houses and to speak privately with advocates, the land bank staff and project partners.

No formal votes or ordinances were taken at the event. Administration officials said policy proposals and regulatory changes on short‑term rentals and other tools will be detailed in the coming weeks and discussed with council members and community partners.