Lehigh Valley single-family home prices went up 12% year-on-year, report says
The National Association of Realtors confirmed Thursday what local would-be home buyers already know: prices have been going up.
Home prices in the Lehigh Valley rose 11.7% in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the year-ago period, according to the association.
The median price of an existing single-family home in the region reached $330,700, or about 82% of the national median price, versus $296,100 in the second quarter of 2022.
That's a $34,600 gain in a year, but the Lehigh Valley median price is still cheap relative to the national market.
The median is the midpoint: half of the sales recorded were higher, half were lower.
The percentage increase in price placed the region fifth nationally among 221 markets, according to the trade group. The Lehigh Valley metropolitan statistical area includes Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties in Pennsylvania, and Warren County in New Jersey.
The highest year-on-year price increase was recorded in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where prices went up 25.3%. The Trenton, New Jersey area was ninth with a 10.5% gain.
Nationally, 128 of 221 metro markets saw increases in home prices, NAR said, as 30-year fixed mortgage rates moved between 6.28% and 6.71%.
Still, the national median price for an existing single-family home dropped 2.4% to $402,600 compared to 2022.
"Home sales were down due to higher mortgage rates and limited inventory," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. "Affordability challenges are easing due to moderating and, in some cases, falling home prices, while the number of jobs and incomes are increasing."
In the U.S. South, prices dropped 2.2% year-over-year, while prices in the Northeast rose 3.2% and 1.4% in the Midwest.
Median prices declined 5.8% in the West. Year-over-year prices fell 19.1% in Austin, Texas; 11.3% in San Francisco, and 7.4% in Las Vegas, the NAR said.
The regional declines may not continue, Yun said.
"The number of homes receiving multiple offers, alongside continuing job and wage gains, signal price slides may already be a thing of the past," Yun said.
U.S. unemployment was 3.5% in July, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The National Association of Realtors is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.5 million members.