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South Jersey counties are some of the most vulnerable housing markets in the pandemic

Author Name, ProPublica

2022-06

Several South Jersey counties have housing markets that are among the most vulnerable nationwide to pandemic downturns, according to a year-end analysis by real estate data provider Attom.

The analysis measured percentages of homes at risk of foreclosure, how much of the average local wage is required to pay monthly home costs and percentages of homes that are worth less than homeowners owe. These warning signs show where the risk of a market downturn is highest, according to an Attom report published Thursday.

New Jersey — in particular, areas near Philadelphia and New York City — has one of the highest concentrations of at-risk markets. Atlantic and Cumberland counties in South Jersey were also among the top 50 most at-risk markets, which were mainly on the East Coast.

Atlantic County had the 11th most vulnerable housing market in Attom’s nationwide ranking. Statistics compiled by Attom indicate that about one in 1,166 county properties had foreclosure filings against them in the fourth quarter of 2021. A county resident making the average county wage in Q4 2021 would have to spend 28.9% of their income for a house or condominium selling at the median county price of $254,000. And the share of properties with mortgage balances that exceeded estimated property values in Q3 2021, which the report describes as “being underwater,” was about 13.4%.

Cumberland County, the 21st most distressed market, had one of the highest rates of foreclosure filings, according to a summary of the report posted on the Attom website Thursday. About one in 743 properties in Cumberland County had foreclosure filings against them in Q4 2021, with 13.6% of homes being underwater in Q3 2021. County residents making the average county wage in Q4 2021 would have to spend 22.3% of their income to afford the median-price house of $174,000.

The report summary partially attributes a spike in foreclosures to the July 2021 end of federal foreclosure-prevention programs. In the United States as a whole, the share of houses facing foreclosure action in Q4 2021 was one in 2,446 — meaning the rate of foreclosure action in Atlantic County was more than twice the nationwide rate and the rate of foreclosure action in Cumberland County was more than triple it.

Elsewhere in the nation, counties in the Chicago area and across California also are more subject to the effects of the pandemic.

The housing market as a whole and in the Philadelphia region remains strong, despite limited housing supply and still-rising sales prices that threaten affordability. But two years in, the health crisis remains a threat to the broader economy and to the housing market, said Todd Teta, chief product officer with Attom.

“No immediate warning signs hang over any one part of the country, but pockets are more vulnerable to the market taking a turn for the worse,” Teta said in a statement. Attom examined 575 counties across the country.

Gloucester County ranked 13th. Residents need to spend 32% of their income to afford the cost of a single-family home at the median price of $249,999, according to Attom. Costs include mortgage payments, property taxes and insurance. In the summer, 8% of homeowners with loans owed more than their home is worth. One in every 995 properties in the county has a foreclosure filing against it.

In Camden County, which ranked 31st, one in 606 residential properties had a foreclosure filing. Residents need to spend about 26% of their income for a single-family house at the median price of $235,250. For almost 9% of residential properties, owners owed more than the property was worth this summer.

Burlington County ranked 37th on the top 50 list. Residents have to spend 28% of their income to buy a single family house at the median price of $287,500. About 7% of residential property owners are underwater on their mortgages this summer. One in 757 properties has a foreclosure filing.

Ocean County also had an exceedingly vulnerable housing market, ranking 36th on the list. County residents making the average county wage would have to spend 42.6% to buy a house or condominium at the county median price of $389,000 in Q4 2021. The share of homes underwater was 5.2% in Q3 2021, and about one in 1,476 Ocean County properties in Q4 2021 had a foreclosure filing against it.

Press Staff Writer Chris Doyle contributed to this report.
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