Secondary-home market retreating — even in the Lehigh Valley
Mortgage‑financed vacation‑home purchases plunged nationally and fell sharply in the Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton metro between 2021 and 2025.
It looks like the pandemic-era trend of staycations is dwindling, at least when it comes to families buying second homes for seasonal stays.
And while the Lehigh Valley may not be a vacation mecca, it too has seen a decrease in second home purchases.
Nationally, a recent study by SellMyTimeshareNow found that U.S. vacation-home purchases financed with a mortgage fell 65.8% between 2021 and 2025, dropping from 257,549 purchases to just 88,158 nationwide.
Currently, only 1.7% of housing in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro is used seasonally, recreationally, or occasionally.
The region ranked 71st among all midsize metros for the largest decline in vacation-home demand. On the list of all 897 metros and micropolitan areas, it ranked 458th.
The median value of mortgaged vacation homes in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro is $390,000.
Vacation-home purchases in the Lehigh Valley fell 61.4% between 2021 and 2025.
Because vacation homes are typically discretionary purchases, study authors said the category acts as a leading indicator for broader economic conditions.
Sharp declines in second-home buying may reflect changing consumer confidence, affordability pressures, and reduced financial flexibility—even among higher-income households that traditionally drive resort and leisure real estate markets.