Properties on the US Atlantic seaboard (7)
I believe the answer is:
estates
'properties' is the definition.
(estate is a kind of property)
'on the us atlantic seaboard' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'on' could be 'at' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'at' is found in the answer.
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for estates that I've seen before include "residential areas" , "Property?" , "Demesnes" , "lands for development" , "Extensive landed properties" .)