Lehigh Valley Real Estate

With rising rents and limited inventory, the Lehigh Valley housing crunch is making it harder for many people to find affordable apartments or even think about buying a home.

The full story, to publish Wednesday, will explore why newly available apartments are attracting large numbers of applicants and what that reveals about the balance between housing supply and demand.

PBS39 will broadcast a special, hourlong community forum tonight on data centers — their demand, their needs and their potential impact on the Lehigh Valley.

In December alone, there were 676 eviction filings and defaults in Lehigh County — the highest monthly total since August 2023.

In counties such as Lehigh, eviction filings have reached their highest point in years, even as rental vacancy rates have fluctuated. That apparent contradiction — rising vacancy estimates alongside persistent eviction volume — is part of a broader housing dynamic playing out across the region.

The Central Park Apartments property borders a massive redevelopment project that's set to transform the former Allentown State Hospital property.

Officials signed off on plans that call for 73 condominiums — 15 one-bedroom units, 36 two-bedroom units and 22 three-bedroom units — and about 2,500 square feet of commercial space.

Officials are looking to secure a developer to build a mixed-use space at a property that features a large parking lot and a 7-Eleven built almost a half-century ago.

Developers have announced a $67 million, 216-unit apartment complex is headed to Palmer Township, offering residents what they say is a wealth of amenities in close proximity to local metro areas.

Lower Macungie Township's planning commission voted Tuesday to recommend approving a 55,000-square-foot light manufacturing facility near Schoeneck and Alburtis roads.

The 15,100-square-foot facility would be constructed in consolidated lots at 1415 and 1425 Lehigh St.

A total of 44 one- and two-bedroom apartments will be offered at the Walnut Street location.

Allentown City Council looks poised to move about $2.25 million in unspent federal funding to other accounts.

Pen Argyl Borough Council provided conditional use approval to a former warehouse a developer intends to turn into an apartment building.

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency awarded seven projects in the state with grants from its Community Revitalization Fund Program. Only one project in the Lehigh Valley received money — a remediation project for the Fourth Street Building in Bethlehem.

Once pitched for 27 units, the newest project documents show 24 apartments to be built on site, with 18 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units ranging from about 600 to 1,700 square feet.

City officials will later hear more on the vision and take a vote on the new $25 million building at 701-719 N. New St. The vote on April 1 pertained to the zoning classification of the land in question, located just a couple of blocks up from the action on Main Street.

Allentown planning officials granted a one-year extension to Cortex Residential as it awaits state funding for its project.

Lower Macungie's Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to buy 44 acres of farmland on Lower Macungie Rd. Township officials previously approved a 30-building, 180-unit apartment complex on the site.

Bethlehem’s Pembroke Choice project is giving residents “the opportunity to plan what the next generation of their neighborhood looks like,” Mayor J. William Reynolds said Saturday.

This time around, developers look to better conceal the addition among neighboring structures, setting it back 28 feet from the original facade instead of a previously proposed 6 feet.

More than a dozen new apartments could be built in Allentown, though six more were rejected Monday night.

Local officials highlighted the project's potential to make a small dent in the Lehigh Valley's deep housing deficit.

A conditional use hearing for a 170-unit apartment complex on Van Buren Road addressed a potential right-of-way issue during Monday's Palmer supervisors meeting, although the hearing has been continued until April.