The Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS® (GLVR) reported November data showed that another round of record-low mortgage rates provided encouragement for buyers to move forward on home purchases, which continued to remain strong overall for the month.
GLVR Members: Click HERE to view the full Market Update report for November 2020.
“The Lehigh Valley housing market is performing exceptionally well, partially because of its proximity to major cities that are experiencing an exodus of individuals looking to leave behind high-occupancy locations and buildings,” said GLVR CEO Justin Porembo. “We’ve always been a well-positioned market and that again rings true as we weather the global pandemic.”
With data now available for the month of November, Northampton and Lehigh counties saw increases almost across the board, including:
- New Listings increased 14.6 percent to 706.
- Pending Sales were up 21.2 percent to 733.
- Closed Sales jumped 12.4 percent to 818.
- The Median Sales Price went up 19.1 percent to $243,573.
- Percentage of List Price Received went above and beyond, increasing 2.1 percent to 100.3 percent.
Inventory, of course, remains low, shrinking 51.8 percent to 802 units, leading to a Months Supply of Inventory that was down 52.2 percent to 1.1 months. This low inventory means Days on Market remained fast, decreasing 41.2 percent to just 20 days.
“Showing activity remains higher than the same period a year ago, suggesting that strong buyer demand is likely to continue into what is typically the slowest time of year,” said GLVR President Jack Gross. “With inventory remaining constrained, sellers continue to benefit from the tight market conditions, and our 2,600-strong membership is ready to safely work with any potential seller contemplating entering the housing market.”
In Carbon County, which continues to show a healthy amount of housing-related activity, the Median Sales Price increased to $198,500. Closed Sales were up to 89. Pending Sales increased to 78. New Listings dipped to 62, a difference of just four listings from the previous November. Inventory dropped to 118 units, leading to a Months Supply of Inventory of 1.5 months.
Monthly Reminder: Real Estate is Safe
Porembo and Gross continue to emphasize that real estate is safe in the age of COVID-19. All area REALTORS® have access to suggested best practices that outline how to keep everyone involved in a real estate transaction safe. Should any consumer – whether they be a home buyer or seller – be interested in learning how they and their REALTOR® can work together to create a safe environment for a real estate transaction, additional information is available at parealtors.org/coronavirus/best-practices.