ALLENTOWN, Pa. – With only 535 current Lehigh Valley housing listings, the west end Allentown sale is an example of a hot seller’s market, even in the dead of winter.
“This house sold in a day?” 69 News reporter Bo Koltnow asked Allentown realtor Pattie Heine.
“It sold in a day,” she responded. “My appointment book is totally filled with people.”
And more could come. Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly’s $3.5 billion move into the Lehigh Valley attracted attention from Realtor.com, which stated Lilly’s Upper Macungie plant, set to be fully operational in 5 years, could re-shape the regions housing market as average salaries for its 850 employees start at $100,000.
“As a realtor, do your eyes light up?” Bo asked Pattie.
“I’m like, I’m not ready to retire yet,” she laughed.
“As a seller, you could do really well when these start coming through. Because obviously, you know, if a lot of these people are coming from out of the area, there’s a great chance they’re going to need housing,” said Cliff Lewis, President of Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors.
Lewis is hopeful that area municipalities will work with developers to fast-track new developments, especially near the Lehigh, Berks County line.
“The idea is that then those move up, buyers have a place to go. Which then, in turn, opens up some more supply for people trying to break into the housing market in the Lehigh Valley,” he explained.
As demand builds faster than supply, and the median home sales prices already at $370,000, many future buyers could be left on the edge. It isn’t a question of whether there will be a place to go, but where? And for how much?
“I’m looking towards the west. Go west,” Heine advised.