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Lehigh Valley home sales down nearly 32% on higher mortgage rates
Stacy Wescoe//October 17, 2023//
As potential buyers and sellers become increasingly sensitive to the fluctuations in mortgage rates, home sales fell 31.9% in September.
The Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors noted that the decrease comes as mortgage rates have remained higher than 7% since mid-August.
“A buyer who purchased at $400,000 in 2021 would pay $1,289 a month for a mortgage compared to a buyer purchasing today, who would pay nearly $1,000 more per month,” said GLVR CEO Justin Porembo, “We all know where that $1,000 truly needs to go – utilities, food, commuting expenses, student debt payments, etc.”
While closed sales dipped 31.9% to 512 listings. Inventory slipped 33.7%, with only 605 available units in September for Lehigh and Northampton counties.
With inventory still not at sufficient, comfortable levels, the median sales price increased 8.4% to $325,000.
For the month of September, new listings dropped 14.5% to 615 and pending sales were down 4.6% to 557.
The percentage of list price received held steady at 101.2% and homes sold on average in 17 days, the same as September 2022.
In Carbon County, the median sales price increased to $258,750. Closed sales dipped to 52. Pending sales saw an increase, coming in at 68. New listings slipped to 82. Inventory dropped to 140 units. Days on market increased to 39 days as compared to 31 days last September.
“I’ve often said there will always be a seller and there will always be a buyer,” said GLVR President Howard Schaeffer. “The difference now is both sides – more so sellers – often need a compelling reason to enter the market. For sellers, it may be a significantly higher-paying job, a divorce or death, or the ability to pay in cash for their next home.”
