BETHLEHEM, Pa. - It was a record-breaking month for the Lehigh Valley real estate market.
The Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, a trade association, announced earlier this month that the median sales price of a home in the Lehigh Valley reached a new high in December 2021 of $278,000, an increase of over 18% from December 2020.
“This hyperinflation broke a record which was most recently set in June, which was then again broken in July— at that time it was $275,000—and now again, re-broken in December,” said John Morganelli Jr., a Realtor and co-founder and president of Lehigh Valley-based Morganelli Properties.
“The price increases have been significant,” Morganelli said.
A lack of housing stock is just one of the reasons the market is in the state it’s in right now, he said.
“Rock bottom inventory was the result of, I think, a combination of pandemic disruption. Of course, everyone staying home was a big part of it,” said Morganelli.
Inflation and low interest rates are also playing a role, he explained.
He also pointed out that more millennials are now entering the housing market.
It’s all leading to homes in this region being in demand and selling fast.
“We're at a position now where the asking price (for a home) is almost kind of a starting point for negotiation,” said Morganelli.
Morganelli said he expects the 2022 housing market to be similar to 2021.