New Jersey and Florida account for almost half of the 50 U.S. counties whose housing markets are most vulnerable to the economic effects of the coronavirus, an Attom Data Solutions report said.
Attom ranked 483 counties across the country based on the percentage of housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in the fourth quarter, the number of underwater properties in each county and the percentage of local wages required to pay for major homeownership expenses.
Thirty-six of the top 50 most vulnerable counties had median home prices in the $160,000-to-$300,000 range, the report noted.
Of the 10 most vulnerable counties, six are in New Jersey, including Sussex at No. 1 and Warren at No. 2.
"It looks like the Northeast is more at risk than other areas," Todd Teta, Attom's chief product officer, said in a press release. "As we head into the spring home buying season, the next few months will reveal how severe the impact will be."
Among the New Jersey counties that would be most affected, five are in the New York metropolitan area: Bergen, Essex, Passaic, Middlesex and Union. However, of the four counties in New York that Attom considered to be most vulnerable, only Rockland was in proximity to New York City.
Founder, President & CEO of SPLICE Software, Tara Kelly (@TKtechnow), has a passion for enabling clients to engage in a meaningful, Data Driven DialogTM with their customers. As a serial entrepreneur who has developed three companies including one outside the technology field, Tara's expertise is multidimensional but focused on creating businesses that use technology to enhance operations, service and the customer experience.As an open source activist and recognized user experience designer, Tara Kelly served as a board member for the International Board for Voice User Interface Design and the Canadian Cloud Council. In addition to running SPLICE Software, Tara is an advisor for the Special Olympics Toronto, serves on the board of directors for Technology Alberta and is a member of the Entrepreneurs Organization.Recognition for Tara's achievements include Business In Calgary's Leaders of Tomorrow 2014, Bronze Stevie Award winner for Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Canada 2012-14, Profit/Chatelaine W100 2012-14, Profit 500 2013-14, Prairie Finalist for EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2012-13, TechWomen Canada 2013, Calgary's FastestGrowing Companies 2013, Alberta Venture's Fast Growth 50 2012, TechRev Innovation Award 2011, and Western Finalist for the RBC CWEA Award 2011.
Edward Gottfried is the VP of product at Betterment at Work
With two decades of experience in the insurance industry, Simon Pascoe is a seasoned professional in both brokerage and underwriting. Prior to his role as a director at FD Beck, Simon enjoyed a successful 8-year management career with one of the world's largest general insurers.
For New York City proper, all five boroughs were in the middle of the list: Staten Island was ranked 161, Queens was 271, Manhattan at 312, Brooklyn at 320 and the Bronx was 327.
Most of the Florida counties considered at risk are in the northern and central portions of the state. But Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, is also on that list.
There were four counties in the metro Chicago area on the list were Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will in Illinois. Cook County, which includes Chicago proper, is ranked 53rd most vulnerable.
Meanwhile, the only California county on the 50 most vulnerable list is Shasta. Los Angeles County was No. 276. The Bay Area counties were also in the bottom half of the list.
At the other end of the spectrum, 10 of the counties where the housing market is least vulnerable to the coronavirus are in Texas. Seven are in Wisconsin and there are five in Colorado.
King County in Washington, where Seattle is located, was the 20th least vulnerable county according to Attom.
