4243 Glen Lytle Road
Wake up to birdsong and greenspace rather than traffic! This solar-powered move-in ready one-level ranch features a prime location in a peaceful neighborhood part of “the suburbs in the city” still convenient to lots of valuable amenities, as well as excellent fair-weather airflow and numerous sustainability-enhancing investments that also improve quality of life.
Location, Location, Location
This house is less than 2 miles from 3 separate parks, each over 450 acres: (Schenley, Frick, & Hays Woods), plus a 200-acre green space in Calvary Catholic Cemetery, and right around the corner from a public gym/rec center, Healthy Active Living center, ballfields, and seasonal pool. It's convenient to the I-376 interchange, but not so close you hear the noise.
Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) are under 15 minutes' bike ride away, 2 miles to CMU and under 2.5 to Pitt. Much of the route has trails/protected bike lanes to not require mixing with car traffic. It's a bit downhill on the way there to arrive fresh & have some mild uphill effort homebound. Tech & other firms in the South Side Flats are similarly bikeable and it can be exceptionally pleasant along the riverside trails in the mornings, though the return trip up Greenfield Ave is more of a climb. Seller is an alumnus now moving on, just as major development with lots of new high-paying jobs is moving in at the Hazelwood Green location down Greenfield Ave from here. Chatham is < 3 miles away; Duquesne & Point Park about 4¼.
It's just 0.6 miles to the nearest Giant Eagle grocery store and just a block away from a fire station also staffed with medics. Buses to Oakland or Downtown (transfer available to the airport) are also just a block away.
The neighborhood is generally kind & welcoming of diversity.
Pricing
Current asking price: $360,000.
This is in much better inside condition than 663 Loretta St. which sold around the corner last year for $320K after just 2 days' listing (plus escrow time), demonstrating that it was likely underpriced.
Using the latest available data at time of authoring (from Dec. 2025), Redfin reports an average of 7.1% year-over-year increase in selling prices in this ZIP code, which brings a $320K 2025 price to $343K in 2026. Given local economic development such as Hazelwood Green, future value appreciation at this site is likely to exceed broader averages.
Additionally, the house listed here has full solar electric (a $25K investment), a reflective roof (thousands more), new front window, no-VOC paints in all the bedrooms, hall, and living room, and other great sustainability features. At this asking price, you're getting a great value for your money. Don't be afraid to go above it to avoid losing out to a more competitive bid!
The sale is being done in the style of a Dutch Auction, in which the best offer received first wins. Cryptocurrency payments are likely acceptable.
Sale Logistics
The final sale will be done through a real estate attorney and the closing date can be pretty flexible (long-out or short-in) depending on your needs and conditions. Formal offers will go through official forms but informal discussions by email are welcome. In-person tours are by appointment only.
Except major appliances in the kitchen and utility room, such as the Energy-Star rated washing machine, the furniture, wall decor, and other movable items shown in these photos are for illustrative purposes only and are not included in the purchase of the house. However, if you see something you really want, you can try asking to purchase it separate from the house!
Room Details
Living Room
The living room is flooded with natural light from multiple sides, especially through large windows that open for great airflow in summer. The wiring is set up for expansion to add a ceiling fan/light combo in the middle to enhance this further, but it just hasn't seemed necessary. Luxury carpet and great padding throughout the living room, hall, and back bedrooms feels nice under the feet and helps keep the house feeling warm and quiet compared to alternative flooring options.
Bathroom
The bathroom has been completely renovated, opening up a dimly lit and cramped space that used to have a drop ceiling and giant wasp nest over the shower.
It now features white ceramic tile and good lighting from the window as well as energy-efficient overhead and over-mirror lights which are different color temperatures to support wake-up support in the morning but not the evening. Recessed storage and a variety of towel bars and hooks have also been added to help keep the space more organized. A shelving unit over the toilet, medicine cabinet behind the mirror, and vanity storage under the sink further help make the most of the space.
The electrical work has also been upgraded to provide a dedicated 20A circuit to the GFCI plug, in accordance with relevant standards.
A new dual-flush toilet, low-flow high-pressure aerator, and shower controls that let you set temperature and pressure independently also help you make good use of water resources.
Primary Bedroom
The primary bedroom, in the back corner away from the street, has windows on two sides with a view out to the yard and green space beyond. It also features luxury carpeting and great padding underneath. As pictured, there's comfortably room for a work-from-home desk, two dressers, bookcase, bed, hamper, etc. The door features a keyed lock should you need an extra layer of security for the room's contents.
Second Bedroom
The second bedroom is pretty similar to the first, including the same carpet, padding, closet size, and feature of light from two sides, except with a different color of no-VOC paint and slightly smaller but still sufficient area.
Mid-Size Bedroom & Living Room Closets
While in the second bedroom, here are a couple pictures of the closet. Other than no-VOC paint color, this is pretty similar in each of the three bedrooms plus the living room. There is a smaller shelved linen closet off the center of the hallway. Details and large collection bins are shown here to help illustrate the size.
Studio / Third Bedroom
The third bedroom features sustainable laminate hardwood flooring, intended for use with arts & engineering that require a firmer flat surface. It features a single larger window with a view of the neighbor's ivy brick wall.
Dine-In Kitchen
The dine-in kitchen makes meal serving convenient and easy, with quick access to anything you need. It has been home to multiple expert chefs. The good-quality tile floor is easy to clean. Light from two sides and good airflow make it a pleasant place to work. The fridge, microwave and piece of funiture under it are included. The pictured table has a center leaf that can fold down to make it square, and fits very well in that spot (asking $200 for the table, four matching chairs, & chair pads).
Utility Room
The utility room features pantry-type storage just off the kitchen, on-site laundry that doesn't require going to the basement, as well as the hot water heater and 95% AFUE furnace. New tool racks and hangers have been added, especially behind the door to the kitchen.
Heat-producing natural gas appliances (namely as the furnace, hot water heater, range, & dryer) have been retained (or in the case of the dryer, changed to) because it is much more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly to burn natural gas at the place where you need heat than to burn it at a power plant, transmit electricity long distances, and then create heat through electrical resistance. Natural gas makes up a significant portion of energy input to the local grid, which is used when the exact moment of the grid-tied solar production doesn't line up with the exact timing when energy is being used to produce heat (e.g., winter nights).
The sustainability aspects of this house would certainly be enhanced on a cleaner power grid, which may be the future, but for now it appears more ecologically conscious to retain locally burned natural gas as a fuel source for heating applications.
The electrical panel and wiring is reasonably modern and has room for expansion. There is also a currently-unused 20A circuit terminated in a junction box above the studio/third bedroom, intended to simplify further expansion of electrical service to back bedroom outlets (e.g. to run a hair dryer).
The African wax resist art shown mounted into the window and CD clock are not included with the house, but bids are accepted.
Deck/Porch
A front porch deck is large enough to easily fit a round table and four chairs if you want to enjoy eating outside in fair weather.
There is a small roof area over the front door, lit underneath, which is nice for finding your keys and getting in at night or during bad weather. The light is connected to an astronomic timer that will automatically turn the light on and off and adjust the times of doing so according to the variable length of days in the year, without being fooled by shadows, clouds, etc. like an external light sensor would be. This lets you have light when you need it without worry about leaving it on during the day and wasting a lot of electricity over time. You can also very easily override the timer on any special occasions that warrant it.
Shed
This property includes a shed out back used for storing bicycles and/or a lawnmower, as well as smaller gardening tools or whatever else you'd want to put there. The front part of the roof slides toward the back for easier access. It is pictured here with the idea of some rainwater guards to reduce spilling if you slide that roof back after a rain.
Yard
The back and uphill side yards are fenced in (together), though it's difficult to get the gate closed properly, which can mean occasional visitors like the one pictured. Vines have been woven through the much of the chain-link to give it a wind-reducing "green wall" effect.
The front and downhill side yards are open. There are lots of perrenial flowers planted in the front and side gardens, in a variety of species.
The backyard also includes a home compost unit in the corner.
Attic
There is additional storage space for non temperature-sensitive items in the attic.
The attic also features the fan component of a radon removal system, which helps prevent buildup of a radioactive gas in the living space. Radon is very common in Pittsburgh area homes, and can easily raise cancer risk comparable to smoking several packs of cigarettes per day, but this removal system was tested and demonstrated to reduce indoor radon levels to outdoor levels. If you're considering other houses rather than purchasing this one, be sure to get them tested. There is also an easy way to verify that the system is active and working from the living room closet, without having to go up into the attic.
Roof & Solar Array
The rooftop solar array generates more than 100% of the electrical usage of the house, even with two inactive panels, and has roof space for expansion if the electrical demand of the house increases (e.g., if installing heat pumps instead of a furnace).
As additional value even over many other local solar arrays, this array has squirrel guard technology presenting a physical barrier that stops squirrels from nesting underneath the array and nibbling on cables (beyond the two inactive panels).
Local net-metering rules provide greater economic benefits to producing up to 100% of local electric usage with solar than overproducing, which is why that extra roof space wasn't used.
The roof shingles use a special "cool roof" technology which makes them much more reflective in non-visible wavelengths, giving it longer life and helping with thermal management inside the house especially in the summer, as well as aiding in reduction of the urban heat island effect.
Extra shingles are included should you have impacts from an especially bad storm, but they haven't been needed yet. The roof is newer than typical for area homes, which adds value and means you shouldn't have to pay to replace it for a while.
