BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Keeping in line with national trends, housing in the Lehigh Valley grew more expensive throughout 2025.
Locally, housing costs still remain lower than national averages, but data from real estate marketplaces compared with U.S. Census data in Lehigh and Northampton counties show housing affordability still is a struggle.
Data from the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors found that in January, the median sales price of a home was $315,000.
By November, the association's most recent report says, the median home sales price rose to $360,000.
Homes for sale spent 22 days on average in November, down from the 25-day market average in January.
Competition for renters was fierce, too.
RentCafe found the Lehigh Valley's rental market was among the hottest, coming in at the second-most competitive small market in the nation.
RentCafe compared 139 of the most competitive markets by measuring:
- How long apartments stayed vacant
- The share of rentals that were occupied
- How many renters competed for each available unit
- The percentage of renters who renewed their leases
- The share of new apartments opened this year
Overall, RentCafe put the 2025 rental competitiveness index at 75.2 out of 100, while the Lehigh Valley measured up with a competitive score of 90.2.
Nationally, RentCafe reports there are nine renters competing for an apartment, whereas analysts found each available apartment in the Lehigh Valley attracts 15 prospective renters.
That, it said, was "the highest number among the small metros analyzed."
Rent, utilities costs climb
Just like home prices, rent also is up around the area.
On average, rent in the Lehigh Valley costs $1,778, according to RentCafe — a 2.89% increase from the same time last year, but on par with the state average.
Still, Apartments.com says areas such as Allentown have a higher cost of living than the national average, according to data from CoStar Group.
Renters can expect to pay 2.2% more for utilities and 2.5% more for transportation, a rental market trends webpage from Apartments.com says.
Soon, all residents across the Lehigh Valley will see an increase in utilities costs, much like the rest of the country.
In October, UGI Utilities increased natural gas costs by 6.7%.
The Pennsylvania Public Utilities commission, which approved a settlement that allowed the increase, said the average residential customer using 72.9 hundred cubic feet of natural gas each month would see bills increase from $103.57 to $110.51.
Meanwhile, a proposed rate increase that was set to go into effect Dec. 1 by PPL Electric Utilities is on hold as the PUC investigates.
The electricity provider requested its first rate increase in two decades, which the PUC said would add $13 a month for the average residential customer, an average increase of $8 for commercial customers and about $514 more for industrial customers.
The rate hike could be paused for up to seven months as the PUC investigates the requested 8.6% increase, with a final determination due in July 2026.
Even if the PUC approves a lower rate hike than PPL Electric Utilities requested, residents in a handful of municipalities still face increases in other housing costs, including taxes.
Approved and proposed tax hikes range from 26% in Salisbury Township and 24% in Whitehall Township to a 1 mill increase in Fountain Hill.
Despite frustrated Whitehall Township residents ripping into the proposed tax increase in early December, the township board of commissioners unanimously approved the $36.7 million budget.
“If any of you commissioners vote for a 24-percent tax increase tonight, all I can say is I hope you can sleep well at night," resident Joanie Tedesco told the board.
Lehigh Valley home ownership a 'stretch'
In December, Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors President Michael Bernadyn said "the Lehigh Valley remains more affordable than many markets nationwide."
While the area's median sales price sits below the national median sales price — which data varies by source, but typically costs over $400,000 — numbers show that doesn't necessarily mean housing is affordable for the residents who already live here.
Much like reports detailed in July, housing affordability has continued to take a dip in the Lehigh Valley.Realtor.com
Much like reports detailed in July, housing affordability has continued to take a dip in the Lehigh Valley.
LehighValleyNews.com used the same formula as Realtor.com to calculate housing affordability in the area with the "30% affordability rule of thumb" — which means spending around 30% or less of pre-tax income on housing costs.
Using Realtor.com's mortgage rate calculator with the median home purchase price in December, $360,000, monthly payments for a 30-year fixed mortgage with estimated taxes, insurance and a 20% down payment would be around $2,254.
The most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau reports median household income in Lehigh County as $81,270 and $90,183 in Northampton County.
That income still puts Lehigh and Northampton county residents in a "difficult" spot to buy a home in the area.
With a median income of $81,000 to $90,100, Realtor.com's affordability calculator categorizes affording a home around the median cost in the Lehigh Valley as "likely beyond your budget," or as a "stretch."
