Bethlehem appreciation rates and housing market information

Bethlehem housing market information

With 71,329 people, 29,631 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $203,172, Bethlehem real estate prices are well above average cost compared to national prices.

single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Bethlehem, accounting for 37.40% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Bethlehem include row houses and other attached homes (30.77%), large apartment complexes or high rise apartments (17.67%), and a few duplexes, homes converted to apartments, or other small apartment buildings (13.98%).

The most prevalent building size and type in Bethlehem are three and four bedroom single-family detached homes. The city has a mixture of owners and renters, with 55.13% owning, and 39.76% renting.

At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Bethlehem's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 41.95% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Bethlehem include homes built between 1939 and earlier (36.39%), and housing constructed from 1970-1994 (20.47%). There's also some housing in Bethlehem built between 1995 and later (1.19%).

Bethlehem home appreciation rates

Appreciation rates for homes in Bethlehem have been tracking above average for the last ten years, according to NeighborhoodScout data. The cumulative appreciation rate over the ten years has been 83.03%, which ranks in the top 40% nationwide. This equates to an annual average Bethlehem house appreciation rate of 8.30%.

Over the last year, Bethlehem appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Bethlehem's appreciation rate has been -4.32%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Bethlehem were at -0.65%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of -2.60%.

Notably, Bethlehem's appreciation rate in the latest quarter is one of the lowest in America.

Relative to Pennsylvania, our data show that Bethlehem's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 1% of the other cities and towns in Pennsylvania.

One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Bethlehem differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Bethlehem - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 1990, to assist you in making the best Bethlehem real estate investment or home purchase decisions.