One of the “riskiest” real estate markets in the country is in St. Lucie County, according to a recent report by real estate data company ATTOM.
St. Lucie County is the 17th-riskiest county for real estate nationwide and, as a result, one of the “most vulnerable to housing market problems,” according to ATTOM’s analysis.
Florida had the highest number of at-risk counties. Of the 50 riskiest counties, 12 were in Florida. St. Lucie County is the sixth-riskiest county in the state, ATTOM found.
“While home prices have eased slightly from last summer’s record highs, affordability remains a challenge in much of the country,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM said in the report.
“The greatest risk remains in counties where unemployment rates are above 5% and homes are being foreclosed at greater rates,” he said.
St. Lucie County shows several signs of “economic strain and mortgage distress,” such as high housing costs relative to wages, high unemployment and having a foreclosure rate higher than 90% of all U.S. counties, Barber said in a statement.
St. Lucie County had an unemployment rate of 5.6% and 263 properties in the county foreclosed during the first quarter this year, ATTOM found. The average number of foreclosed properties per county is 164, according to ATTOM’s data.
A confluence of factors — high mortgage denials, rising insurance prices and among the lowest affordability in South Florida — make homeownership an obstacle in St. Lucie County.
“At the same time, strong homeowner equity remains a stabilizing force, with St. Lucie falling into the bottom half of counties for the share of seriously underwater properties, helping to limit housing distress,” Barber said.
New housing is seen in varying stages of construction on Monday, March 13, 2023, in the west area north of Tradition in Port St. Lucie.
The median sale price in St. Lucie County dropped to $388,057 in April, down from $395,000 in April 2025.
Jack Randall is TCPalm’s economy and real estate reporter. You can reach him at jack.randall@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Why Florida counties are risky real estate bets