Lehigh Valley Real Estate

Lehigh Valley home prices hit a record high in June, matching soaring temperatures and hindering market activity, the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors said Monday.

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the sale of PPL Tower in Allentown to Wilkes-Barre-based D&D Realty Group. The sale comes more than four months after PPL Corp. announced that its subsidiary, PPL Electric Utilities, had reached a tentative $9 million agreement to sell the building to D&D Realty Group.

The Lehigh County Redevelopment Authority approved a contract between Elias Property Group and Synergy Environmental Group for $67,000 for an environmental study at the former Lehigh Valley Dairy site.

A $6.4 million mansion called Ravenwood Manor caught fire just a day after being sold. Three years later, the owners have donated it to the local government, reportedly as a sign of gratitude for local emergency responders.

Members of Skyline Investment Group came to Wilson Borough Council to talk TIFs and other areas of interest around the proposed 1921 at Dixie Avenue apartment project on Monday.

Northampton County Council has chosen to table a vote on an ordinance which would give the developers behind the Dixie Cup apartment project a significant tax break.

Easton City Council approved a resolution that would allow the city to take the historic Hooper House by eminent domain, but officials would prefer not to fall back on that option, hoping discussions with owner Rock Church may be successful.

The “Easton Commerce Park" proposal for a 1,006,880-square-foot warehouse at the old Pfizer Pigments property off Wood Avenue drew concerns from members of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

A proposed skyscraper on 9th Street in Allentown called Peregrine Tower has garnered local and feasibility concern for its height and impact on the neighborhood.

Home sale prices in Lehigh and Northampton counties neared all-time highs last month, with an average of $333,275 — up 5.8 percent from May 2023, according to the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors.

Free, 7-week course covers essentials from power tool use to drywall, trim, scaffolding, safety and more, and offers employment interview opportunities for those who qualify.

BPA Executive Director Steven Fernstrom said, “This selection marks the initial stages of the project, and we look forward to sharing more details as they are made available in the coming months."

A public hearing for Tax Increment Financing — a tax break for the Dixie Cup plant developers to pump money back into the project — drew substantial support at Northampton County Council even though one of the commissioners characterized it as "a payoff."

Sketch plans for an athletic complex for Allentown Central Catholic High School were reviewed by the Whitehall Township Planning Commission on Wednesday night.

Easton's Historic District Commission approved concepts for the Residences at Lynden, a 73-unit condominium project planned for South Third and Ferry streets Downtown.

Bethlehem City Council unanimously approved a $12,000 contract with the Center for Public Enterprise of Brooklyn, New York, to help with designing and implementing such a fund in Bethlehem.

Among the free food, candy and raffles was quite a spread of information available, both in English and Spanish, for families related to a major neighborhood redesign in the works.

The Gateway on Fourth, a 120-unit affordable housing project, expected to cost $29 million, just received $16 million in highly competitive tax credits awarded by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency board. It's one of two affordable housing projects out of six total applicants in the Lehigh Valley to receive the credits.

The Lehigh Valley’s position among the top three small rental markets highlights how much pressure local renters are feeling, but that’s just one side of the housing market continuing to squeeze budgets.

Those parties now will be able to call witnesses and make arguments of their own, as is the case with the original appellee, North Whitehall Township. Argument for the appeal is planned to begin at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 17 at Lehigh County Courthouse.

After a handful of meetings and continuances, the city Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday denied a favorable interpretation on inadequate lot size for property owner Ishtiaq Ali Saaem and Hanover Rauch LLC in a unanimous vote.

North Whitehall Township supervisors soon will vote on revised plans for The Ridings at Parkland Phase II, a 44-home subdivision set to take shape near Spruce Street and Timber Lane.

Two Bethlehem property owners await what’s next as developers plan to put up townhomes on adjacent lots. They’re preparing for what they say could be the worst-case scenario: losing their beloved trees and an established quality of life in the neighborhood.

Challenges for would-be homeowners in Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley are even more evident, with housing reflecting a mix of aging stock, rising values and a growing divide between homeowners and renters.