The real estate markets are fluctuating wildly depending on the impact the coronavirus is having at the local levels. There are two areas, however—the Northeast and Florida—that have the largest concentration of most at-risk counties, according to a report from ATTOM Data Solutions.
According to the report, New Jersey and Florida have 24 of the 50 most vulnerable counties. In New Jersey, the 14 counties span the New York City suburban area, including Bergen, Essex, Passaic, Middlesex and Union counties.
“There is a noticeable impact from the coronavirus spread,” said Ken Baris, president of Jordan Baris, Inc. REALTORS® Real Living, whose markets include New Jersey. “Many buyers are not comfortable entering houses, which has curtailed a large percentage of showings. Sellers are holding off if possible and delaying listings. Numerous active sellers have temporarily taken their homes off the market.”
In New York counties, those most at risk are in Rockland County, and in the NYC metropolitan area, it’s Orange County. The Poughkeepsie metro area and the Albany metro area also have clusters of at-risk markets, including Rensselaer County and Ulster County.
“We’re in New York and New Jersey, and all of our offices are no more than an hour from Manhattan, so we’re right in the epicenter of this outbreak,” said Joseph Rand, chief creative officer of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty, in an RISMedia interview. “We’ve been under an ‘Essential Business Only’ order for a while now, so business has definitely trickled. We’re trying as best we can to facilitate existing deals through inspections, appraisals, walk-throughs and closings. It’s impacting everyone.”
In Florida, the 10 counties most at risk are in the northern and central parts of the state. Other counties in the top 50 span the following states: Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana and Virginia. The least vulnerable? Texas, making up 10 of the 50 least vulnerable counties from the 483 included in the report.
According to ATTOM Data Solutions, the market risk is based on the percentage of housing units that received a foreclosure notice in Q4 of 2019, the percentage of homes that were underwater during that time and the percentage of local wages required to pay for major homeownership expenses.
“It’s too early to tell how much effect the coronavirus fallout will have on different housing markets around the country. But the impact is likely to be significant from region to region and county to county,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions. “What we’ve done is spotlight areas that appear to be more or less at risk based on several important factors. From that analysis, it looks like the Northeast is more at risk than other areas. As we head into the spring home-buying season, the next few months will reveal how severe the impact will be.” Â
For more information, please visit www.attomdata.com. Â
Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at ldominguez@rismedia.com.
