STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Home sales have fallen for the 12th straight month as mortgage rates have increased. But it may be turning into a buyer's market.
The National Association of Realtors says there are more houses for sale than a year ago.
A real estate agent in Monroe County says the Poconos area is bucking the trend for now.
"For Sale" are still hard to come by, and the number of homes for sale in Monroe County remains low.
"It's definitely still a seller's market. I looked this morning, and inventory in Monroe County for residential homes was for about 550 houses. In a healthy market, we probably should have over 2,000, 2,500. So, we're still way down," said David Coulter, an associate broker and realtor at Keller Williams in Stroudsburg.
Coulter says during the pandemic, home prices soared, and fewer went up for sale, leaving many buyers paying more than they bargained for.
"People were doing things like buying a house without getting inspections. They were going in way over asking price," Coulter said. "Paid more than the house was appraised for because there was this urgency to move. It was pandemic driven."
But Coulter says people looking to buy are starting to gain some power back now that the market is starting to normalize.
"For me, I'm glad people are getting back to doing things normally, that they're going to make reasonable offers," Coulter said. "Sellers are going to be more reasonable with their approach to buyers and participating in things."
According to Coulter, the housing market in Monroe County remains competitive, with a slight advantage for sellers.
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