The commercial office vacancy rate in the Lehigh Valley was on the rise at the end of 2022. 

A Phillipsburg property consisting of office and medical manufacturing space has sold for more than $2 million. 

Continued high construction costs and rising interest rates have had an impact on what has been a red-hot commercial real estate market in Eastern Pennsylvania. 

The Lehigh Valley submarket, part of the Interstate 81/78 corridor, saw its industrial vacancy rate drop slightly in the third quarter, from 7.9% to 7.8%, according to a report from Newmark Real Estate. 

The Lehigh Valley isn’t just getting more warehouses. The warehouses are also getting bigger. 

RDM Group of New Jersey has purchased Northgate 1, a 22-acre tract on Airport Road, Hanover Township for $4.5 million. 

Coming off a record-breaking year in 2021, the I-78/I-81 corridor is continuing to experience record low vacancy, record high absorption and record high rents in the commercial real estate market, as well as a construction industry that’s struggling to keep up with demand. 

Industrial tenants in the region can expect sticker shock when their leases come up for renewal according to a new report by CBRE. 

The United States had a record year for large warehouses in 2021 and the I-78/I-81 corridor, running through the Lehigh Valley, Central Pennsylvania and Northeastern Pennsylvania ranked second in the country for these large transactions. 

As expected, commercial real estate activity along the I-78/I-81 corridor ended 2021 by smashing records.