Completed foreclosures in Colorado hit six-year low in July, filings rise

Foreclosure filings were up in Colorado during July, but foreclosure auction sales fell to a six-year low. According to a report released Tuesday by the Colorado Division of Housing, foreclosure filings in Colorado’s metropolitan counties were up 14 percent last month compared to July of last year, rising from 1,733 to 1,976. Over the same period, foreclosure auction sales were down 23.7 percent, falling to the lowest auction sales total recorded for July since 2007.

Among the counties surveyed, there were 865 foreclosure auction sales during July of this year, compared to 1,134 sales during July of last year. 

For the first seven months of the year, from January through July, foreclosure filings were up 4.9 percent in 2012 when compared to the same period last year. Foreclosure auction sales, however, were down 28.0 percent over the same period. 

Foreclosure filings are the initial filing that begins the foreclosure process, and foreclosure auction sales totals are the total number of foreclosures that have been sold at auction at the end of the foreclosure process. 

“There were fewer than 900 auction sales during July, which is a long way from zero, but back in 2007 and 2008, we often saw more than 2,000 completed foreclosures in a single month,” said Ryan McMaken, a spokesman with the Colorado Division of Housing. “New foreclosure filings are down quite a bit also but numbers have been flat so far this year.”

Comparing the first seven months of this year with the same period last year, the county with the largest decline in foreclosure filings was Weld County where filings decreased by 9.5 percent. Mesa County, on the other hand, reported a 22.5 percent increase in foreclosure filings over the same period.

Eleven of twelve counties surveyed showed decreases in foreclosure auction sales during the first seven months of this year when compared to the same period last year. The counties with the largest decreases in foreclosure auction sales, year over year, were Boulder County and Denver County where auction sales decreased by 41.1 percent and 37.9 percent, respectively. Broomfield County reported an increase of 8.0 percent in auction sales over the same period. 

The county with the highest rate of foreclosure sales during July was Mesa County with a rate of 1,016 households per foreclosure sale. Adams County came in second with 1,256 households per foreclosure sale. The lowest rate was found in Boulder County where there were 7,029 households per foreclosure sale. 

The Division of Housing’s monthly foreclosure report surveys foreclosure activity in the twelve metropolitan counties of Colorado. The report is a supplement to the Division’s quarterly foreclosure report that includes all counties in Colorado.