Is NC Set for a Downturn?

The real estate data analytics company ATTOM recently put out their Special Housing Risk Report. What this does is look at individual counties throughout the United States and assess whether they are at risk of a real estate collapse. The report also shows where the highest concentration of those counties is located. One U.S. state had the highest concentration of counties. Was it North Carolina? 

Thankfully, no. That honor goes to New Jersey, home to 6 of the 10 most at-risk counties in the country. According to the study, an entire county is seen as vulnerable when there is a high percentage of homes facing foreclosure, where the remaining mortgage balance exceeds the home’s worth, and levels of unemployment are higher. These three things mixed together make a ‘perfect storm’ of risk. 

“Housing markets with poor affordability and relatively high rates of unemployment, underwater loans, and foreclosure activity could be at risk if we enter a recession or even face a more modest downturn,” explained Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM, in a statement.

These are U.S. counties most vulnerable to downturn: 

• Passaic, NJ
• Essex, NJ
• Atlantic, NJ
• Sussex, DE
• Kent, DE
• DeKalb, IL
• Sussex, NJ
• Cumberland, NJ
• Will, IL
• Union, NJ

On the flipside, one North Carolina county made the list of counties least vulnerable to downturn:

• Chittenden, VT
• Benton, AR
• Davidson, TN
• King, WA
• Shelby, AL
• Durham, NC
• Tippecanoe, IN
• Olmstead, MN
• Williamson, TN
• Rutherford, TN