The Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors stated this week that the inventory still does not reflect a healthy balance between buyers and sellers.
However, according to a press release, GLVR's July statistics revealed favorable rises in important housing measures.
This includes a 9.7% increase in concluded sales to 600 listings and a 19.3% increase in inventory for Lehigh and Northampton counties, totaling 802 units. However, at $348,500, the median sales price rose 6.9%.
Other noteworthy data were as follows:
- There were 855 new listings, a 22.3% rise.
- To 627, pending sales climbed by 11.2%.
- Inventory held in months increased by 25% to 1.5 months.
- Although it decreased by 0.2%, the percentage of list price received remained at 102%.
- The average time for homes to sell is 18 days, an increase of three days.
The release from GLVR Chief Executive Officer Justin Porembo stated, "While the national real estate market has seen a significant slowdown due to leaving behind pandemic-era mortgage rates and rising sales prices, keeping many prospective buyers on the sidelines, the Lehigh Valley continues to demonstrate a remarkable resilience."
According to GLVR, the median sales price in Carbon County dropped to $244,000. Closed sales fell to 44; pending sales rose to 76; the number of new listings increased to 99; and the quantity of inventory increased to 209 units. Days on market rose to 36 days in July of last year from 26 days in the same month the year before.
According to GLVR President Lori Campbell, "mortgage rates have reached their lowest weekly level — 6.47% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage — since May 2023." "This is the biggest one-week decrease in mortgage interest rates that we have witnessed in the last nine months. It is now time for people who have been waiting for rates to drop to take action."
The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that this week saw a spike in refinance mortgage applications to a level not seen since spring 2022. Furthermore, the quantity of mortgage applications submitted by Americans reached a record high since January 2023. Joel Kan, Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist at MBA, stated, "Rates on both 30- and 15-year fixed rate mortgages declined for the second consecutive week, which along with the prior week's rate changes, stimulated another solid week for application activity."
Realtor.com published its most recent study on the country's hottest home markets as of July 2024 on Friday. The Lehigh Valley was not one of the hottest markets, despite the report's conclusion that some of them were in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
The July ranking of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metro dropped 25 points to No. 49 out of 300 metros nationwide. "Slightly hot market that is cooling down compared to last month and cooling down compared to previous year," according to the report's classification of the region. According to the research, the median days on market was 34. The inventory moved 13.5 days faster than the US overall, but 13% slower than it did the year before. According to the survey, properties in the area also receive an average of 1.7 times more views than the national average.