The buyers are there, but where are the sellers?

About half as many homeowners in Carbon County are willing to jump into the real estate market and sell their houses this year compared to last year.

According to a report by the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors Association, the inventory of houses for sale in July was 163 compared to 359 houses last year. The number of houses that were new listings in July was slightly higher than the previous year, 128 compared to 112, but the overall number of houses that have come on the market this year is lacking. The total number of new listings as of July 2019 was 740 units. As of July 2020, that number is 557 units.

“Seller activity remains a little bit soft,” said Justin Porembo, the director of Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors. “It could be compounded because of COVID-19 concerns. I can assure you that real estate is very safe.”

Porembo said GLVR members are following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, as well as best practices outlined by the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, which include cleaning, sanitizing, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks.

Jim Christman, a broker with Keller Williams in Palmerton, agreed that the lack of inventory is due to the virus, but inventory - or the lack of it - has been a problem for a while.

“Even before the virus, we were running a very low inventory,” he said.

Christman said that now is a great time to jump into the market.

“The buyers didn’t go away,” he said.

According to the GLVR, pending sales are up from 77 units in July 2019 to 136 units in July 2020. The year-to-date median sales price in Carbon County has increased to $145,000 this year over $127,000 last year. Those who sold their houses in July saw an even higher median sales price of up to $154,900.

“The median sales price has increased again,” Porembo added. “There’s low inventory, so it’s a sellers market.”

Christman said sellers should wait to renovate and put their house on the market.

“It’s important now to get the property on the market,” he said. “Buyers who really want a house are willing to overlook it.”

The current 30-year fixed rate mortgage is 3%, he said. The low interest rate means that buyers can qualify for a higher priced house and get more for their money.

For people who still want to do a little touching up of their property before putting it on the market, Christman has some advice.

“The best things to do are often the least expensive,” he said.

First, declutter the house, especially children’s toys.

“The more cluttered a room is the smaller it appears,” he said. “If I were selling my home today, it wouldn’t look like I’m selling it today.”

Give everything inside and out a good cleaning. New paint is always beneficial. Just double check maintenance items, such as make sure the windows work and the front door isn’t squeaky.

When the touch-ups are done, Christman said it’s important to hire a real estate agent that knows the market trend of the area. That way, the real estate agent can advise the seller about pricing and whether or not to accept an offer.

“Some sellers are seeing multiple bids and prices are going up,” he said.

For more information about creating a safe environment for a real estate transaction, GLVR recommends going to parealtors.org/coronavirus/best-practices.