Foreclosure filings were down 1.6 percent in Colorado metro counties
during August, and foreclosure auction sales fell to a six-year low. According
to a report released Thursday by the Colorado Division of Housing, foreclosure auction
sales in Colorado’s
metropolitan counties were down 10.4 percent last month compared to August of
last year, falling from 1,497 to 1,341. Over
the same period, foreclosure filings were down, dropping from 2,325 to
2,287.
For the first eight months of the year, from January through
August, foreclosure filings were up 4.0 percent in 2012 when compared to the
same period last year. Foreclosure auction sales, however, were down 25.7
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.
“With all of the slowdowns and administrative delays that
pushed foreclosure filings down so far last year, I expected a larger increase
in filings this year that we’re seeing,” said Ryan McMaken, a spokesman for the
Colorado Division of Housing. “Instead, new foreclosures are only up slightly
this year, while completed foreclosures really dropped off, reflecting last
year’s big drop in new filings.”
Comparing the first eight months of this year with the same
period last year, the counties with the largest declines in foreclosure filings
were Weld and Boulder
counties where filings decreased by 8.3 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively. Mesa
County, on the other
hand, reported a 26.4 percent increase in foreclosure filings over the same
period.
Ten of twelve counties surveyed showed decreases in
foreclosure auction sales during the first eight 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 Douglas County and Denver
County where auction
sales decreased by 37.9 percent and 37.2 percent, respectively. Broomfield and Pueblo counties reported
increases of 8.3 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, in auction sales over
the same period.
The county with the highest rate of foreclosure sales during
August was Pueblo
County with a rate of 574
households per foreclosure sale. Mesa
County came in second
with 752 households per foreclosure sale. The lowest rate was found in Boulder County where there were 2,390 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.
