Meet Seth Bowser: New Local Realty’s COO
In our Meet the Team series, we’re covering a different New Local Realty team member each week, giving you a deep dive into the people who drive our company and community forward. This week: Meet Seth Bowser, New Local Realty’s COO!
With a background that covers everything from Physics to Tech, Seth is a multi-talented problem-solver who spearheads New Local Realty’s Operations. As a former Design Engineer, Seth has a proficiency for optimization, and he uses that talent to streamline our processes at New Local Realty on a daily basis.
We sat down with Seth to get a better idea of who he is as a person and professional:
Seth Bowser: Personal Bio
Where were you born?
Butler, PA.
How long have you lived in Pittsburgh?
I’m from 30 minutes outside of Butler, a little town called Bruin. We lived 15 minutes from the nearest gas station and 30 minutes from anything you’d consider civilization. Apart from some time I spent in Hawaii during college, I've spent most of my life in the Pittsburgh region.
Where did you go to high school?
Karns City High School.
Which part of Pittsburgh do you call home today?
Downtown.
What is your favorite hidden gem in Pittsburgh?
That’s got to be Barcadia in Market Square. Barcardia has a bunch of retro video games, pinball machines, and arcade cabinets, plus a ton of nerdy-theme drinks like Rainbow Road (named after the Mario Kart race track).
Favorite Pittsburgh neighborhood?
I’m a little biased because I live Downtown and I love it. Everything is so close, from bars to restaurants to shows. I can get everywhere I need to go by calling an Uber, hopping onto the T, or getting on a bus. We were pretty isolated in Bruin, so it’s nice to be right in the middle of the city.
Outside of that, I really like Lawrenceville and Aspinwall. In Lawrenceville, you get that upbeat smalltown art vibe, but Aspinwall is great because it feels secluded even though it’s also super close to town. You get that quaint, homey vibe, and it’s very quiet and friendly.
Where did you go to college?
That’s an interesting one. I started off at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa because I wanted to go to school as far away from home as was possible for me. Then I eventually transferred to Penn State and studied Physics, and I wound up publishing papers on nature and solar energy.
If you have a Physics degree, you usually wind up working in Academia or something totally unexpected. I wound up working somewhere unexpected.
Seth Bowser: Professional Bio
How did you get involved in real estate?
Through Theresa. I was freelancing as a web designer and worked with Theresa to build the websites for New Local Realty and Pittsburgh’s Home Girl.
When Theresa saw my skill set and background, especially in technology and problem-solving, she asked me to come aboard to assist with marketing and operations.
What are your strengths as a real estate professional? How have your skills been showcased in past business ventures?
Coming from a Physics background, my skill set really sits in problem-solving. No matter what we’re doing or up against, I can focus on the variables and find ways to optimize, ultimately saving money for the company and the people we work with.
What drew you to New Local Realty?
Theresa. I have a world of respect for Theresa and her journey.
So much of her path reminds me of my mom’s journey. My mom was a single mom, but she worked hard to provide for us. She worked through the Police Academy, worked to become a Deputy, and eventually earned the title of Captain.
Theresa had me sold on the vision of helping people and making something impactful through New Local Realty, and I feel honored to work alongside someone so dedicated to the community and the members of our team.
What do you like about working with New Local Realty?
It’s fun and there’s so much we’re still working out as a team. We still have that startup feel, so everything moves quickly while remaining exciting.
Everything we’re working toward is meant to empower individuals, and I love being part of an organization that helps everyone. Coming from a small town, I know what it’s like to not make much money and to struggle to afford housing. But people deserve opportunities and good, affordable housing, and that’s what we aim to provide.
How do you think New Local Realty will impact the real estate industry in Pittsburgh and beyond?
In Pittsburgh in particular, we’re seeing a lot of hedge funds gobble up 2- to 3-bedroom homes, which are the houses people in the low-income tax brackets are trying to buy up to build their own wealth.
Instead of building up a massive portfolio of rental properties (which is what those hedge funds are trying to do), we’re more interested in finding ways to help people buy homes.
Ultimately, we really want to see the community running the community, not a bunch of institutional investors. That’s what’s going to maintain that special ‘hometown’ feel Pittsburgh is so well known for.
What do you like about the team at New Local Realty?
The team is diverse. We all come from different backgrounds and passion projects, and everyone has been an independent business owner before coming here. As a result, everyone brings that experience and insight to the table, and everyone already knows what they’re good at, and how they can best contribute to the team. And because everyone has worked in real estate, they all understand the importance of what we’re doing from an insider’s perspective.
Seth Bowser: Underdog Story
At New Local Realty, we celebrate underdog stories. As a company focused on helping individuals build wealth and go from renting to homeownership, we believe in the power of overcoming obstacles, and we’ve built our company culture on the idea that when we work together, we can do anything.
What’s your underdog story?
I’m still writing my underdog story, and New Local Realty is an important part of it.
I come from a small town where there are certain expectations for what you do in life. You graduate from high school, then you either enter a trade or you go off to college and become an engineer or a doctor.
I’ve bounced around a little in my career. After college, I was an industrial design engineer, but I really wanted to do something with tech that could genuinely impact the world in a positive way. So I started Wherwood, which established a two-way marketplace for the lumber industry.
By doing some freelance web development, I eventually connected with Theresa, and that got me into New Local Realty.
That’s the essence of my underdog story: moving from a farm in a small town to gradually finding new and better ways to impact the world around me.
Seth Bowser’s Vision for Pittsburgh
How has Pittsburgh changed in your lifetime?
Pittsburgh has really adapted economically, and it continues to show that same resilience that makes Pittsburgh so great.
Part of that is because of its emergence as a leader on the east coast in technology. We have Duolingo, Google, Uber—all of these major tech companies.
Pittsburgh is a strong, proud city, and I think we’ll see that continue.
How do you think Pittsburgh will continue to evolve in the next 10 years?
At this pace, I really do think Pittsburgh is going to become synonymous with tech and innovation. With CMU and all of the incubators and investors, I think the tech sector is only going to grow stronger and stronger here, and that’s going to continue to bring in new people looking for housing.
What opportunities do you see in Pittsburgh for individuals interested in the real estate industry?
Like I said earlier, I think the opportunity really lies in tech and innovation. As the tech industry continues to attract new talent, we’ll see more competition for housing and property values increase. And this is going to be great for the people who already own housing, as they’re going to see more and more equity.
That might sound like bad news for people trying to buy homes today, but there are still a lot of places where you can buy cheap — places that are likely to improve over the next few years.
We saw that happen in Lawrenceville, and I think we’re going to see that in Homestead (where we’re located), but I’d also like to see it happen on the other side of the river as well.