Hellertown vs Coopersburg (Allentown, Easton, Quakertown: rent, townhouses, purchasing)

[JohnZ963]

Originally Posted by Nittanytiger

There seems to be fewer properties available in Coopersburg relative to Hellertown. I am also noticing that a number of the Hellerstown properties that are for sale are selling below their last sale price (this is also true of recent closed sales). Is this a trend or am I reading too much into a small sample?

A lot of people overpaid in Hellertown in the 2005-2007 timeframe when the market was in a bubble. Some of those little cape cods were selling for $200,000+ and they aren't worth that much. Especially with the high taxes in Hellertown.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by JohnZ963

A lot of people overpaid in Hellertown in the 2005-2007 timeframe when the market was in a bubble. Some of those little cape cods were selling for $200,000+ and they aren't worth that much. Especially with the high taxes in Hellertown.

And some of those Cape Cods are in foreclosure.

[Nittanytiger]

Originally Posted by JohnZ963

A lot of people overpaid in Hellertown in the 2005-2007 timeframe when the market was in a bubble. Some of those little cape cods were selling for $200,000+ and they aren't worth that much. Especially with the high taxes in Hellertown.

The situation you describe with the cape cods is exactly what I am considering at the moment. I have a concern that many more will foreclose and affect the property values negatively.

[toobusytoday]

Have you been following this situation? Saucon Valley teachers contract remains elusive - The Morning Call

Contract talks have a history of being contentious in Saucon Valley. Teachers went on strike in 2005, 2008 and 2009 during discussions then.

I think Hellertown is a nice lively town, but with school age children, this would give me pause for thought.

[Nittanytiger]

I actually do not have school age children myself, but the school district is important to me in terms of maintaining the property value.

[Nittanytiger]

Originally Posted by PacoMartin

The two county area (Northampton and Lehigh) has a total of 3 cities, 27 boroughs and 32 townships.

Emmaus is by far the largest Borough at almost half the size of Easton City

None of the boroughs have a particularly high crime rate (compared to the cities), but education levels and property values are very different. I would say that the following six boroughs have the highest quality of education and are the best investment for stable property values.

• Alburtis Borough
• Coopersburg Borough
• Macungie Borough
• Hellertown Borough
• Nazareth Borough
• Portland Borough

1. Alburtis Borough
2. Catasaqua Borough
3. Coopersburg Borough
4. Coplay Borough
5. Emmaus Borough
6. Fountain Hill Borough
7. Macungie Borough
8. Slatington Borough
   ----------------------
9. Bangor Borough
10. Bath Borough
11. Chapman Borough
12. East Bangor Borough
13. Freemansburg Borough
14. Glendon Borough
15. Hellertown Borough
16. Nazareth Borough
17. North Catasaqua Borough
18. Northampton Borough
19. Pen Argyl Borough
20. Portland Borough
21. Roseto Borough
22. Stockertown Borough
23. Tatamy Borough
24. Walnutport Borough
25. West Easton Borough
26. Wilson Borough
27. Wind Gap Borough

I am curious as to why you left Emmaus off the top 6. Also, how does Belvidere, Nj rate relative to Hellertown and Coopersburg.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by Nittanytiger

I am curious as to why you left Emmaus off the top 6. Also, how does Belvidere, Nj rate relative to Hellertown and Coopersburg.

That was an oversight. East Penn School District serves the Boroughs of Alburtis, Emmaus and Macungie.

Belvidere is very small (about size of Coopersburg). I don't know much about it, but I was under the impression that the real estate taxes were higher. I used to live in northern Warren county about 30 years ago (for 3 years). I didn't realize how rural you could feel in New Jersey.

[Nittanytiger]

Thanks for the reply. I am continuing to search as I am concerned about the housing bubble in Hellertown that was mentioned above - such a bubble makes buying a home on the downtrend difficult as the seller has a floor dictated by their remaining mortgage + RE agent costs in most cases. I was almost set on Hellertown until I started seeing the details behind some of the property's histories.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by Nittanytiger

such a bubble makes buying a home on the downtrend difficult as the seller has a floor dictated by their remaining mortgage + RE agent costs in most cases.

That is hardly unique to Hellertown. You will find that almost everywhere with people who bought in the last 10 years.

Just randomly choosing a home nearest me was purchased on 13 Sept 2006 for $495,000, the owner has been trying to get just enough to cover his mortgage balance and RE for almost 4 years now.

A Crayola executive bought one of the finest Victorians in College Hill Easton on 1 april 2008, for $655,000, PROBABLY SANK A FORTUNE INTO IT, and tried to take a mere $100K loss, but after two years she lost $200K.

But a good school district is still one of the most powerful incentives for many people.

[Nittanytiger]

I guess what may set some areas apart is if they had an influx of sales during the housing boom. A place with a large number of sales during that period is a risk for more foreclosures and sales situations like I described above. A place that had a smaller number of sales during the boom is probably a bit more stable in terms of housing values and housing ownership. I have not done enough research to label the towns in Lehigh Valley as to these categories, however, my small sample from Hellertown makes me think it is a town that experienced a large number of inflated sales during the housing boom, more so than Nazareth and Coopersburg.