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.
Attention is focused on the impact COVID-19 may have on economic growth in the United States in the short and long term.
Erik Breen has led the Integrated Reporting Framework Panel since 2016, after being a Council Member of the International Integrated Reporting Council from 2013-2016, and has the ambition to reconnect the power of institutional capital with the beneficiaries’ non-financial values through a realistic business-driven approach. He has 24 years’ experience in asset management, especially in integrating finance and sustainability. He has been at the forefront of global developments in corporate governance, responsible investment, stewardship and sustainability and impact investing. He has international experience as board member in developing and challenging strategy, in promoting effective risk oversight and in fostering open board cultures. He founded Infinsus, which is dedicated to integrating finance and sustainability.
Mortgage application volume rose last week, but with the 10-year Treasury yield tanking in recent days, growth in refinancings for the current period is quite likely, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
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.
