Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Housing News Digest, May 9

Foreclosures fall again in Colorado and all its metro areas Both new foreclosure filings and foreclosure auctions sales were down during the first four months of the year when compared to the same period last year, the Colorado Division of Housing said today.
Foreclosure filings in Colorado's metropolitan counties were down 1.0 percent for the first four months of 2012 , comparing year over year, falling from 8,476 to 8,395.

Foreclosures fall in Colorado During the first four months of this year, the counties with the largest changes in foreclosure auction sales, year over year, were Douglas, Denver and Boulder counties where auction sales declined 40.7 percent, 38.1 percent and 38.1 percent, respectively. Auction sales dropped by only 5.4 percent in Pueblo county, and they grew by 29.6 percent in Broomfield County where 35 auction sales were reported. All other counties surveyed reported drops of 18 percent or more, compared to the first four months of this year with the same period last year.

Filings Were Down 1 Percent For First Quarter DENVER -- The number of foreclosure filings and auction sales in Colorado's 12 largest counties has dropped over the past four months. According to state housing data released Wednesday, the Colorado Division of Housing found that foreclosure filings were down 1 percent for the first four months compared with last year's figures. That's down from about 8,500 to nearly 8,400. Over the same period, foreclosure auction sales were down 29 percent, from nearly 6,200 to nearly 4,400.

Denver home prices better than national average Denver’s housing market appears to be outpacing national home prices. Industry analyst CoreLogic says home prices jumped 3.5-percent in the Denver-Boulder-Broomfield market in March. Conversely, prices dropped by nearly one-percent nationwide.

Bank of America initiates home loan modification offers LOS ANGELES — Homeowners with a Bank of America mortgage have good reason to check their mailbox. The lender said Tuesday it has begun mailing out letters to customers who may qualify to have their home loans reduced as part of a multistate settlement over alleged foreclosure abuses.

 Short sales, foreclosures hinder housing recovery (MoneyWatch) Short sales and huge inventories of bank-owned real estate properties continue to put downward pressure on home prices, according to data released today by California-based analytics company CoreLogic. Fifty-seven of the 100 largest statistical areas based on population posted year-over-year declines in March. Nationally, CoreLogic's March Home Price Index report shows prices fell 33.7 percent in March 2012, from their peak in April 2006.