Central Pa Housing Market crisis

The Spark

Inflation has been impacting many industries from food prices at the grocery store and even affordable housing. In Central Pennsylvania, there’s even a housing shortage. Jodi Diego of the National Association of Realtors says there’s even a lack of homes to sell in the area.

“We don’t have enough homes to sell. Plus, you know, new construction. It’s taking a awhile for us to get back up in running… We’ve got the buyers out there. We have sellers too, “said Diego.

The baby boomer generation is also contributing to the housing shortage by staying in their homes longer, according to Diego.

“Back a few years ago, when the interest rates were lower and people either refinanced or, you know, purchased at that lower price. Interest rate. For them to go ahead and put their home on the market today to try to buy something at a higher interest rate if they're going to take a mortgage on it. You know, it really has caused that trickle-down effect because baby boomers are staying in their home, we don't have their homes for resale, “said Diego.

Tracy Klinger is the President of the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors. Klinger says construction costs and materials are also adding to the shortage.

“Construction rates have been down for years. I believe over the last decade, we have not seen the level of construction that we need to continue, to provide adequate, affordable housing, particularly for the workforce class. And just because I'm a numbers geek, to put things in perspective, depending on who you ask, a balanced market, meaning there's enough buyers and sellers on both sides. It's considered to be somewhere between 4 and 6 months, depending on whether you use the 4- or 6-month target. The last time we've been in a balanced market has been somewhere between 2015 and 2018. So, at a minimum, six years ago is the last time we were anywhere near a balanced market. Right now, compared to that, I consider six months to be balanced. Compared to that, we are running somewhere right around one and a half months supply of inventory. So, it's drastically lower than what we need, for the number of buyers out there, “said Klinger.

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