Foreclosure filings rise 7% in February

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There were 3,042 foreclosure filings in Colorado’s largest counties in February, a 6.5 percent increase from the 2,856 filed in February 2009, shows a state report released today. The report by the Department of Local Affairs’ Division of Housing also shows that foreclosure sales at auction rose 14 percent from February 2009 to February 2010, but remain down 14 percent compared to February 2008. New foreclosure filings were also down 14 percent compared to February of 2008.

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

“Early last year, Fannie, Freddie and some major services joined in a moratorium on foreclosures, so it’s not surprising that this year, with no moratorium in place, numbers are higher,” said Ryan McMaken, a spokesperson for the Division of Housing. “Yet the overall trend shows that new foreclosure filings are flattening out for now.”

Foreclosure activity varied by county. The counties with the largest decreases in filings activity from February 2009 to February 2010 were El Paso County and Larimer County, where filings decreased by 16 percent and 24 percent, respectively. The largest increase was in Mesa County where filings increased 223 percent year-over-year.

Foreclosure sales activity decreased in Adams, Denver, El Paso, Jefferson and Weld Counties during February of this year compared to February of 2009. The largest decrease was in Weld County where sales decreased 20 percent year-over-year. The largest increase was found in Mesa County where foreclosure sales increased 363 percent from February 2009 to February 2010. However, measuring changes in foreclosure sales activity since 2008, some counties reported substantial decreases with Adams, Arapahoe and Denver Counties all reporting declines of over 40 percent.

The county with the highest rate of foreclosure sales was Weld County with a rate of 639 households per foreclosure sale. Adams County came in second with 714 households per foreclosure sale. The lowest rate was found in Boulder County where there were 1,896 households per foreclosure sale. The largest increase in foreclosure rates since 2009 was found in Mesa County where the foreclosure rate more than quadrupled year-over-year.

County	February 2009	February 2010	Percent Change
Adams	388	395	1.8%
Arapahoe	439	498	13.4%
Boulder	93	110	18.3%
Broomfield	26	24	-7.7%
Denver	400	424	6.0%
Douglas	191	237	24.1%
El Paso	450	376	-16.4%
Jefferson	273	327	19.8%
Larimer	200	152	24.0%
Mesa	44	142	222.7%
Pueblo	124	117	-5.6%
Weld	228	240	5.3%
Total	2,856	3,042	6.5%