The average sales price rose 3 percent to $206,000.
The Lehigh Valley Community Land Trust, which purchases and renovates properties, promotes this home sale on Cherokee Street in Bethlehem. Lehigh Valley home sales rose 11 percent in June compared with one year ago, a new report shows.The region reported 554 sales last month, up 11 percent from 499 sales recorded in June 2011. The average price rose 3 percent to $206,000 over that time, according to LVAR.
Sales, still far below pre-crash levels, are rising steadily.
The June increase marks 12 straight months that sales rose from prior-year totals. Year to date, sales are up 12.3 percent from 2011.
Loren Keim, president of Century 21 Keim in Allentown, said the housing market, still distorted by a higher-than-normal number of foreclosures and short sales, is showing signs of life.
“We’re not going to see a boom anytime soon, but if we keep moving in a positive direction in the next six to nine months, I think we’ll be completely out of the housing recession in two years,” Keim said Thursday. “The worst is over.”
Progress is hardly robust. Home purchases lag the boom era of the mid-2000s, when June sales frequently surpassed 900. Keim said about 750 sales during June, a peak month for housing activity, is a more normal level for this region’s population.
Prices, meanwhile, are inching upward.
In addition to the uptick in average prices, the median price gained 2.2 percent to $184,000 compared with June 2011. The median is the midpoint where the same number of homes sell for above and below that price.
Keim said the increase reflects growth in high-priced home sales, which collapsed during the downturn. In June, 34 homes sold for more than $400,000, or 6 percent of all sales. That’s double the February mark of 3 percent.
“It’s definitely an improvement,” said Keim, also a lecturer at Lehigh University. “It means people are moving up the chain again, where they can sell their home and move up to a higher one.”
Historically low interest rates continue to ease costs for shoppers.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year loan fell to 3.56 percent Thursday, while the 15-year mortgage, a popular refinancing option, dipped to 2.86 percent. Both are record lows.
Analysts say the biggest impediment to a resurgent housing market is weak job growth, which curtails consumer confidence.
Unemployment has remained stubbornly high at 8 percent or greater, while many employed workers are seeing smaller or no raises. Lending standards are also tighter than years ago.
Other trends in June’s LVAR report:
- Pending sales, a future indicator, continued to outpace last year. The region reported 632 pending sales last month, up 26.4 percent from one year ago. Pending sales are signed deals that have yet to close.
- Homes also sold more quickly last month. The average home sold after 77 days on the market, down from 87 days the prior month. In June 2011, it took an average home 88 days to sell.