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The Greater Lehigh Valley REALTORS® (GLVR) reported October data showed stubbornly high inflation and soaring borrowing costs have eroded buyer purchasing power and have caused the housing market to cool rapidly this year.

GLVR Members: Click HERE to view the full Market Update report for October 2022.

“The housing market is undergoing a major shift, and affordability continues to be an obstacle for buyers and sellers,” said GLVR CEO Justin Porembo. “Mortgage rates have doubled since March, and home prices remain elevated due to a limited supply of homes, although price gains are slowing at a quickening pace.”

As a result, according to Porembo, many homeowners are waiting until market conditions improve to sell their home, while other sellers are increasingly cutting prices and offering concessions to attract a greater number of buyers. Rentals, too, are having to do the same, Porembo notes.

October Stats

Closed Sales dipped 29.1 percent to 574 listings. With inventory still not at sufficient, comfortable levels – there were 826 units in October for Lehigh and Northampton counties – the Median Sales Price increased 14.0 percent to $296,500.

Other notable housing statistics for October include:

  • New Listings slipped 17.5 percent to 698.
  • Pending Sales were down 25.4 percent to 580.
  • Months Supply of Inventory was up 8.3 percent to 1.3 months.
  • Percentage of List Price Received went above and beyond, but it did tumble 0.7 percent to 101.0 percent.
  • Homes sold, on average, in 18 days, up two days from the previous October.

In Carbon County, the Median Sales Price increased to $205,000. Closed Sales were down to 61. Pending Sales perked up to 74. New Listings dropped to 74. Inventory slipped, coming in at 147 units, leading to a Months Supply of Inventory that decreased to 2.1 months. Days on Market increased three days to 33 days.

“We talk about the housing market cooling, and many people want to assume we’re headed for a bubble and back to 2007-2008, but this is a different market, these are different circumstances, and we’re actually headed in a healthier direction,” said GLVR President Howard Schaeffer. “We are now, on average, seeing 2.5 offers for every seller versus the all-time high of 5.5 offers for every seller. This is much healthier, because buyers aren’t spending just 10 minutes in a property – while an Open House line snakes around the block – and feeling pressured to decide on what could be the biggest purchase they may make in their life.”