Low inventory hurting sales, raising prices in Lehigh Valley housing market

Tight housing inventory is holding back the normal burst in home sale activity in the Lehigh Valley, and at the same time it’s leading to an increase in prices. 

According to the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, closed sales dropped 33.6% to 432 listings while inventory slipped 27.5%, with only 498 units on the market in April in Lehigh and Northampton Counties 

“Housing inventory remains tight here in the Lehigh Valley and nationwide – if you can believe there were only 980,000 units (nationally) available for sale heading into April,” said GLVR CEO Justin Porembo. “The lack of existing inventory continues to impact home sales. Competition for available properties remains strong, especially in certain price categories, with multiple offers again dominating the market.” 

He noted that the median sales price for a home in the Lehigh Valley has gone up 12.5% to $315,000 

The homes that are available are selling according to the GLVR. The months’ supply of housing inventory dropped 20% to 0.8 months, with homes selling in 24 days on average. That’s an increase of 71.4% or 10 days 

In Carbon County, the median sales price increased to $231,000. Closed Sales remained steady at 59. Pending Sales dropped to 53. New Listings slipped to 70. I 

“I recently spent several days in Washington, D.C., attending the 2023 Realtors Legislative Meetings,” said GLVR President Howard Schaeffer. “A key takeaway from economists from the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders was that increasing interest rates will not fix the inventory problem.” 

He said new construction may be able to ease the housing price issue. 

“Housing prices are still rising because of limited housing options on the market. Homebuilding is the policy we need to bring that inflation down, not interest rate hikes. Nationally, we need to be building more than 1.1 million homes a year to have a meaningful impact on the lack of inventory. Leadership within our association looks forward to continuing the conversation regarding inventory and affordable housing with local organizations, builders, legislators, and other valuable parties.”