Higher interest rates appear to be putting a little dent in the housing market.

According to data from the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, the number of days a property is on the market in Carbon County has nearly doubled since this summer. In June, a property was available for just 19 days before a buyer made an offer. In November, that time period increased to 37 days.

“Buyers are delaying home purchases in hopes rates will drop, while many sellers are holding off on listing their homes due to weakening buyer demand and to not trade in their current lower rates for significantly higher borrowing costs on their next property,” said Lehigh Valley Realtor CEO Justin Porembo. “As a result, existing-home and pending home sales have continued to slow as we move into winter.”

The current interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate home loan is 6.25 percent, according to Wells Fargo. The APR, which includes the interest rate plus other charges and fees, is 6.455 percent.

GLVR’s data shows the median sales price in June was $250,000 in Carbon County. That dropped to $196,000 in September, but has since made a rebound to $235,000 in November.

Meanwhile the number of new listings has dropped from 114 in July to just 49 in November. The total inventory in November is 127 properties, down from a high of 156 in July.

Closed sales and pending sales are also down. In August, there were 85 sales pending, and 84 closed in September. October had 74 pending sales, but just 59 closed in November.

“There’s no denying that the real estate market is in flux,” GLVR President Howard Schaeffer said in the association’s October report. “Potential buyers are contending with higher-than-expected housing prices and interest rates, and sellers are struggling to find new properties to move into before closing on their current residences. This has left many wondering whether they should just wait or risk a loss by engaging with a volatile market.”

In an interview, Schaeffer said that this isn’t a buyer’s market or a seller’s market, because “you’re trading A for B.” The winners are sellers who are downgrading to a smaller property.

One of the things he is seeing is that buyers are negotiating prices and asking for housing inspections to be done. For a while, they were foregoing things like negotiating because the market was so competitive, but not now.

“There’s a little going back and forth,” he said.

Schaeffer recommends that buyers have a real estate agent with them to help with negotiating getting the price and terms they want.

“The market may not be ideal, but your property is out there waiting for you – we’ll help you find it,” he said.