Baltimore and 11 Other East Coast Cities That Could Be Headed for a Housing Crisis

The East Coast is often seen as an affluent part of the country, even though it includes a number of states spanning New England to the South with varying economies.

The entire U.S. has experienced dramatic economic changes the past few years, not only with the pandemic but with inflation that has driven up the cost of living no matter where you live. Some East Coast cities may be poised to experience more than just a little economic downturn, with a housing crisis looming as well.

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In order to find the East Coast cities whose housing markets are showing some warning signs, GOBankingRates looked at the largest 200 cities in terms of total housing units and some crucial factors such as percentage of mortgages that are between 30 and 90 days delinquent and homeowner and renter vacancy rates. Data was drawn from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Consumer Protection Bureau and RealtyTrac.

Here are the 12 East Coast cities most likely to end up with a housing crisis, with North Carolina and Georgia holding the most cities each.

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.1
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.7

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 1.4
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.5

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• Homeowner vacancy rate: 1.3
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.7

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 2.0
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.7

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 2.8
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.7

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.7
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.8

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.1
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.7

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 2.7
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.8

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 2.1
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.6

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 1.0
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.8

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 1.4
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 0.6

• Homeowner vacancy rate: 3.2
• % of mortgages delinquent 90 days: 1.0

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Methodology: In order to find the East Coast cities that could be poised for a housing crisis, GOBankingRates looked at the largest 200 cities in terms of total housing units across the following factors: (1) percent of mortgages 30-89 days delinquent by MSA as sourced from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; (2) percent of mortgages 90-plus days delinquent by MSA as sourced from the Consumer Protection Bureau; (3) homeowner vacancy rate as sourced from the 2020 American Community Survey; and (4) rental vacancy rate as sourced from the 2020 American Community Survey. These four factors were then scored and combined, with the highest score indicating the city most likely to be poised for a housing crisis. Factors (1) and (2) were weighted 2x and factor (4) was weighted 0.5x. The 100 cities most poised for a housing crisis were moved onto the next round of scoring. These 100 cities were then re-ranked and scored on the four factors above as well as (5) foreclosure rate as sourced from RealtyTrac. These five factors were scored and combined, with the highest score indicating the city most likely to be poised for a housing crisis. For this second round of scoring, factors (1) and (2) were weighted 2x, factor (4) was weighted 0.5x, and factor (5) was weighted 1.5x. GOBankingRates then isolated those cities in the appropriate census region with the highest scores for final rankings. All data was collected on and up to date as of May 23, 2022, and rankings were finalized on Nov. 8, 2022.