LEHIGH TWP., Pa.- The Lehigh Valley’s housing shortage is well-documented by this point.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC), which says the region has a deficit of at least 9,000 units, is now at the tail end of its Lehigh Valley Housing Supply and Attainability Strategy, launched in February alongside the Urban Land Institute and Lehigh County. A dashboard on the LVPC website breaks down the need by municipality, county and region. 

A new residential community going up in Northampton County aims to make a 200-home dent in that deficit. 

Northwoods is currently under construction on 60 acres of land off W. Mountain View Drive in Lehigh Township. But it’s not exactly a typical housing development; it’s a land lease community, meaning homeowners will own their homes, but not the land beneath them. They lease the land from the property owner.

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Sam Del Rosario / SERHANT

Also, the homes are manufactured, or factory-built, homes. They’re built in a closed environment off-site, and then shipped to the property in Lehigh Township, where they can be assembled in as little as a day, said Jared Surnamer of Valley Community Management, who is in charge of infilling the community.

The single-level ranch homes are available in a variety of sizes and floor plans, with the biggest model (more than 1,600 square feet) offering four bedrooms. Prices range from $260,000 to $295,000.

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Sam Del Rosario / SERHANT

Meantime, a search for available homes in the Walnutport area on Zillow’s website shows new-build ranch homes being marketed for as much as $699,900.

While the Northwoods homes might be deemed affordably priced in comparison, the land-lease model might give some potential buyers pause. But renting the land is what keeps the brand-new homes affordable, Surnamer said. The lease fee will be $800 a month, and, according to Surnamer, the property owners have committed to keeping that fee stable until at least January of 2029. The fee also covers lawn care, snow removal, and road maintenance.

Valley Community Management has a long history in mobile and manufactured homes, owning and managing 11 different communities in the Lehigh Valley. While the company doesn’t own Northwoods, Surnamer called the community, with its paver-lined streets and bucolic setting, one of the most beautiful in the area.

Surnamer is, not surprisingly, a major proponent of manufactured homes, compared to traditional on-site builds. The former, he said, “is built on an incredibly durable frame. It’s built with a lot less waste. It’s more environmentally friendly. It’s a better price per square foot. It’s a versatile product.” 

In the case of Northwoods, buyers have a wide variety of customization options that go beyond the standard checklist of appliances, flooring and paint colors. The layouts can be tweaked to accommodate a wide variety of needs and preferences. “Instead of paying an architect, we would just get this designed at the factory, then they would just do some re-engineering, but it would be very little,” said Surnamer.

The homes are being marketed and sold by Sam Del Rosario and the SERHANT real estate group, based in Bethlehem. 

As of last month, five homes were already on site, with more on the way. “I do expect that they will go quickly,” Surnamer said.