Allentown, Pennsylvania, became a household word in 1982 when rocker Billy Joel released his hit song, Allentown, about the city's disintegrating economy with the exit in droves of the steel mills. Unemployment skyrocketed into the double digits. Acres of manufacturing buildings went dormant.

Fast forward a quarter century later, and you'll find a city in transition, according to Mayor Ed Pawlowski on the city's official website. The city hosts the headquarters for international corporations and has a real estate market with growing home sales prices, but one that remains affordable. The median income is just over $42,000, an increase of 38 percent in the past 18 years.

After years of job growth, the unemployment rate currently matches the national level, home sales have slowed as it has nationwide, but sales prices continue to move on up. Today, an average single-family home in the Lehigh Valley region stands at about $260,000 -- up 7 percent in the last two years. The overall median sales price, including townhouses and condominiums, stands at $108,000. In the last five years, prices have increased more than 60 percent.

Mayor Pawlowski sums up the city's direction: "s Allentown maneuvers into the 21st Century, this former industrial city is moving ahead with a transformation to a modern American downtown."

Published: April 4, 2008

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Mr. Carr is an award-winning real estate broker in Northern Virginia and authored "Real Estate Investing Made Simple: a commonsense approach to building wealth." He also contributed to Donald Trump’s book, "The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received," and is an active trainer and coach of top producers in the Washington DC market. As a sought-after expert on real estate, Mr. Carr has been featured on CNN, various broadcast outlets and was the former real estate editor for The Washington Times. He accepts questions at his blog www.RealEstateOlogy.org.