Tampa Bay appears to be the nation’s most resilient housing market when it comes to the impacts of COVID.

A recent report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a California-based property data company, found that the housing markets in most of the counties making up Tampa Bay are among the least vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus. To determine each county’s vulnerability, the report looked at the total percentage of income it took in Q1 2020 to buy a home, percentage of homes underwater and percentage of foreclosures in Q4 2019.

Based on that data, the report found Pinellas County is most resilient to coronavirus effects. An average Pinellas resident needs 31.7% of income to purchase a home, one of the better percentages in the bay area. The county also had 9.4% of homes underwater and a 12% foreclosure rate.

Pasco and Hillsborough counties are the next resilient, according to the report.

For Pasco, a resident would need to spend a little under 30% of their income to buy a home. The county did have a higher percentage of homes underwater at 14.5% but it also had a lower foreclosure rate than Pinellas at 10%.

The report found Hillsborough is a little more vulnerable than Pasco with 29% of a resident's income needed to purchase a house. The county had 12.3% of homes underwater and a 15% foreclosure rate.

“It’s too early to tell the 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,” says Todd Teta, ATTOM’s chief product officer. “What we’ve done is spotlight areas that appear to be less at-risk based on several important factors.”

Christy Rosen Clement is a Pricing Strategy Advisor®, Seller Representative Specialist®, Military Relocation Professional® and REALTOR® at Palermo Real Estate Professionals in South Tampa