ATTOM: Florida, California Have Most Housing Markets Vulnerable to Decline

(Arlington, Va., courtesy of Sideesh Balasubramani/pexels.com)

ATTOM, Irvine, Calif., released its latest Housing Risk Report, identifying county-level housing markets across the U.S. it deemed most vulnerable to declines.

Florida had 12 of the riskiest counties, followed by California with nine and Illinois and New Jersey with five each.

Topping the list is Charlotte County, Fla., followed by Butte County, Calif., Charles County, Md., Shasta County, Calif., and Cumberland County, N.J.

ATTOM based the analysis on home affordability, equity and local wages, among other factors.

“While home prices have eased slightly from last summer’s record highs, affordability remains a challenge in much of the country,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “The greatest risk remains in counties where unemployment rates are above 5% and homes are being foreclosed at greater rates.”

ATTOM also identified the least risky counties, finding nine were in Tennessee, five each were in Virginia and Wisconsin and four were in Michigan.

The least risky county is Chittenden County, Vt., followed by Rutherford County, Tenn., Arlington County, Va., Tippecanoe County, Ind., and Cumberland County, Maine.

In general, they tend to benefit from low unemployment and foreclosure rates, and few underwater mortgages. They aren’t, however, necessarily more affordable, ATTOM noted.