Lehigh Valley residential real estate has strong July

While there may be challenges, nationally, in the real estate market, the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors is reporting that the local market is showing strength in key housing metrics.

“While the national real estate market has seen a significant slowdown due to leaving behind pandemic-era mortgage rates and rising sales prices, keeping many prospective buyers on the sidelines, the Lehigh Valley continues to demonstrate a remarkable resilience,” said GLVR CEO Justin Porembo. “July numbers show that even slightest bump in inventory has buyers are seizing the opportunity to invest in a region that offers unique lifestyle benefits and a strong sense of community, proving that localized factors can still drive dynamic real estate activity even amidst broader market challenges."

According to the latest report, July closed sales increased 9.7% to 600 listings. Inventory increased 19.3%. There were 802 units in July for Lehigh and Northampton counties. With inventory not yet at a healthy balance between buyers and sellers, the median sales price increased 6.9% to $348,500.

One major problem in the market has been inventory, and July showed some good news as new listings increased 22.3% to 855 and months’ supply of inventory grew 25% to 1.5 months.

In Carbon County, the median sales price decreased to $244,000. Closed sales slid to 44. Pending sales increased to 76. New listings increased to 99. Inventory saw a bump with 209 units, leading to a months’ supply of inventory that increased to 3.8 months. "Mortgage rates have reached their lowest weekly level 6.47% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage since May 2023," said GLVR President Lori Campbell. "This represents the largest one-week drop in mortgage interest rates we've seen in nine months.”

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