UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa.- What’s going on in Lehigh Valley real estate development?<\/p>\n
In short, a lot.<\/p>\n
Commercial, industrial and residential projects and trends were highlighted Wednesday during The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce (GLVCC) 2026 Real Estate Outlook.<\/p>\n
The event was held at the Delta by Marriott hotel in Upper Macungie Township.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the key takeaways.<\/p>\n
A ‘major’ metro area<\/p>\n
In the not-too-distant future, the Lehigh Valley will be considered a major metro area, as it closes in on a population of one million people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to stats provided by Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC) Executive Director Becky Bradley, the region’s population has grown by 240,000 since 1970. “Essentially, that’s equivalent to adding another Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton and Emmaus,” she said.<\/p>\n
If trends continue at the same pace- and it’s expected they will- the combined population of Lehigh and Northampton counties will surpass 800,000 people by the year 2050, Bradley said.<\/p>\n
Where will all of those people live? The LVPC has previously said the region already has a deficit of more than 9,000 housing units. Attempting to fill that void is a work in progress.<\/p>\n
The LVPC reviewed plans for just under 6,000 units last year; so far in 2026, the agency has seen nearly 830 proposed units across a mix of housing types, with apartments making up the vast majority of that total at 659 units.<\/p>\n
Also, the LVPC has been working on\u00a0The Lehigh Valley Housing Supply and Attainability Strategy, a joint effort with Lehigh County and the Urban Land Institute, which aims to identify workable solutions to help close the gap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We need shovels in the ground”<\/p>\n
Justin Porembo, CEO of the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors (GLVR) group, is all too familiar with the area’s housing shortage.\u00a0Inventory has been a persistent problem for prospective homebuyers in the Lehigh Valley. “We need shovels in the ground,” Porembo said.<\/p>\n
The region’s months supply of inventory- a metric\u00a0that indicates how long it would take to sell all available homes in a market if no new listings were added- has been hovering around one month for a long time. Typically, six months is a sign of a healthy real estate market. “We have not had six months inventory in our metropolitan area in about 10 years,” Porembo said.<\/p>\n
Last summer, the median sales price for homes in the Lehigh Valley hit a record high of $375,000. But that hasn’t caused the red-hot sellers’ market to cool. “We have things flying off the shelf at just about every price point,” Porembo said. Homes listed for sale in the Lehigh Valley are usually scooped up in three to four weeks.<\/p>\n
Prospective renters don’t have it any easier. According to Porembo, the Lehigh Valley is the\u00a0number two most competitive rental market in the United States, with 15 renters competing for each unit.<\/p>\n
Nonresidential development<\/p>\n
When it comes to commercial and industrial development, the warehouse boom is slowing,\u00a0and the era of the hyperscale data center is beginning.<\/p>\n
“Industrial development still accounts for the largest share of activity, but what’s changing is the type of industrial development,” Bradley said. “So far in quarter one of 2026 we’ve reviewed 5.8 million square feet of nonresidential development, but only about half of that was warehousing and logistics related.”<\/p>\n
Recently the LVPC issued a new industrial use guide that aims to help municipalities plan for next-generation land uses, including data centers.<\/p>\n