Carbon County has seen its highest number of houses going to closing since 2007, just before the mortgage meltdown in 2008.

"2017 is going to be a robust year," said Cass Chies, broker and owner of ReMax Diamond 1st in Palmerton.According to statistics provided by Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, closings on house sales peaked in Carbon County in the third quarter of 2007 with 175 houses in a three-month period. In the second quarter of 2016, closings peaked at about 155 houses, and remained near that for the rest of the year.The numbers have been on the rise since 2011 when Carbon County hit the bottom in the first quarter with about 55 closings."People may be finally getting confident enough to decide to buy," said Pat Reilly, president/CEO of Mauch Chunk Trust Co. "The thought may be that rates might be going up. That tends to make people move."Since the election, interest rates on mortgages have gone up some, he said.In addition to interest rates, house prices are starting to push up, Chies said. But she doesn't think that will slow the market. Mortgage lenders have relaxed some of their in house requirements, which are called overlays, she explained."It opens up that credit box," she said. "It opens up the market to more people."When the overlays are relaxed, a buyer with a less than perfect credit rating can qualify for a mortgage."We can go down to a 580 credit rating," she said.Each week, factors in the housing market can change, so it's best to see a real estate agent and get pre-qualified for a mortgage before starting the search for a new house.