ATTOM Data Solutions’ most recent Housing Risk Report looks at county-level housing markets and ranks their vulnerability to decline based on affordability, proportion of seriously underwater mortgages, foreclosure rates, and unemployment. According to the results, more than half of the nation’s 50 highest risk markets are located in just five states, with California collecting 16 all on its own. New Jersey followed with nine markets, Florida had four, and Arizona and Texas each had three counties at risk of decline. But while affordability and the high cost of a median-priced home may seem like the obvious reason a market would begin to slide, Rob Barber, ATTOM’s CEO, says that’s not necessarily the case. “A lot of attention has, deservedly, gone to affordability concerns stemming from the rising price of homes,” Barber said. “But what really separated the riskiest markets in our third quarter assessment were their high rates of foreclosures and unemployment.” On the flip side, the nation’s healthiest housing markets are found in Wisconsin, Tennessee, Montana, New Hampshire, and Virginia. (source)
