John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... Foreclosures are occurring at a faster-clip in the Denver-Aurora area than the national average, according to a national first-quarter report released today. The Denver-Aurora area ranked No. 49 out of 206 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif.
One out of every 116 households in the Denver-Aurora area was in some stage of foreclosure, according to the company that sells real estate foreclosure data. That compares to the U.S. average of one household out of ever 138 homes in some stage of foreclosure. RealtyTrac counts every step of the foreclosure process – from the first filing until it become an REO (Real Estate Owned) property owned by the foreclosing lender – and then adds them. The foreclosure rate in the first quarter rose 11.18 percent from the fourth quarter, compared with a 7.23 percent increase nationwide, and was up 16.02 percent from the first quarter a year earlier, compared with the first quarter of 2009. On a national basis, year-over-year foreclosures grew by an average of 16 percent.
The increase in the Denver area was not unexpected, because of several moratoria in place in early 2009, which made them artificially low.
Denver-Aurora 70% of all foreclosures
The report shows that a total of 13,037 homes were in some stage of foreclosure in Colorado during the first quarter in five MSAs tracked by RealtyTrac. In addition to Denver-Aurora, the other MSAs are Colorado Springs, Greeley, Boulder and Fort Collins-Loveland. Denver-Aurora, with 9,137 homes in some stage of foreclosure, had more than twice the household units in the other four MSAs combined, accounting for 70 percent of all foreclosures. Colorado Springs, had 2,011; Greeley, 1,327; Fort Collins-Loveland, 528; and Boulder, 442.
Ryan McMaken, of the Colorado Division of Housing, conducts foreclosure research statewide, using a different methodology than RealtyTrac’s.
“The foreclosure-per-household rates and the totals for filings don’t compare to ours, of course, since they apparently count foreclosures differently from us,” McMaken said. “But as far as the rankings go, there aren’t any surprises. Greeley continues to have some of the biggest challenges with foreclosures. Weld County will again be among the top counties for foreclosure activity in our first quarter report to be released on May 13. The fact that the Fort Collins-Loveland area and the Boulder area are ranked so low is no surprise, either. Fort Collins clearly has one of the strongest employment and real estate markets in Colorado right now, and real estate within the city of Boulder continues to do well. Real estate in Boulder County, on the other hand, continues to experience high foreclosure rates, but that’s primarily driven by foreclosures in Longmont and other areas outside of Boulder itself.”
McMaken also noted that while both “Denver and Aurora are both seeing some recent declines in foreclosure activity…overall foreclosure rates in those areas remain high.”
Usual suspects dominate nationally
yOverall, the report shows that cities in California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona once again accounted for all top 20 foreclosure rates in the first quarter among metropolitan areas with a population of at least 200,000. The majority of those top metros reported decreasing foreclosure activity from the first quarter of 2009. California accounted for 10 out of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates, followed by Florida with seven, Nevada with two and Arizona with one. Foreclosure activity declined on a year-over-year basis in 14 of the cities in the top 20 and in eight of the cities in the top 10. In contrast, foreclosure activity in the first quarter increased on an annual basis in 159 of the 206 metro areas tracked in the report, and foreclosure activity nationwide increased 16 percent from the first quarter of 2009.
“The decreasing foreclosure activity in some of the nation’s top foreclosure hot spots in the first quarter is largely the result of government intervention and other non-market influences, and not a sure signal that those areas are out of the woods yet when it comes to foreclosures,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “For example, the federal government’s new program designed to encourage short sales, which was launched April 5, may have caused some lenders to delay initiating foreclosure against distressed properties — particularly in hard-hit housing markets where a short sale costs less than a foreclosure.
Las Vegas still No.1
Las Vegas continued to post the nation’s highest metro foreclosure rate in the first quarter, with one in 28 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing (3.51 percent) — 4.9 times the national average. A total of 28,480 Las Vegas housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, an increase of nearly 13 percent from the previous quarter but a decrease of 19 percent from the first quarter of 2009.
Modesto, Calif., foreclosure activity decreased 13 percent from the first quarter of 2009, but the metro area still documented the nation’s second highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 34 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing (2.93 percent). Other California cities in the top 10 were Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 4 (2.82 percent), Stockton at No. 5 (2.77 percent), Merced at No. 6 (2.76 percent), Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 8 (2.41 percent) and Bakersfield at No. 9 (2.33 percent).
With one in every 35 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing (2.82 percent) the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area in Florida documented the third highest metro foreclosure rate despite foreclosure activity decreasing nearly 6 percent from the previous quarter and decreasing nearly 26 percent from the first quarter of 2009. The other Florida metro area in the top 10 was Orlando-Kissimmee at No. 10 (2.30 percent).
The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro area in Arizona documented the nation’s seventh highest metro foreclosure rate in the first quarter, with one in every 38 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing (2.63 percent). First quarter foreclosure activity in Phoenix was up 23 percent from the previous quarter and up 9 percent from the first quarter of 2009. Cities outside Sun Belt post big increases Several cities in the top 100 but not in the top 20 posted substantial year-over-year increases, continuing the trend of foreclosure activity spreading to areas previously protected from the brunt of the real estate slump.
Area Rank 1 out of households in some foreclosure stage % Change 4th Q 2009 % Change 1st Q 2009
US 138 7.23% 16.02%
Denver-Aurora 49 116 11.18% 26.03%
Colorado Springs 58 129 8.29% 7.20%
Boulder 135 281 -12.65% 24.16%
Greeley 29 71 16.30% 23.10%
Fort Collins-Loveland 120 243 -37.74% -14.98%
Contact John Rebchook a JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865
[...] One out of every 116 households in the Denver-Aurora area was in some stage of foreclosure, according to the company that sells real estate foreclosure data. That compares to the U.S. average of one household out of ever 138 homes in some stage of foreclosure. RealtyTrac counts every step of the foreclosure process – from the first filing until it become an REO (Real Estate Owned) property owned by the foreclosing lender – and then adds them. The foreclosure rate in the first quarter rose 11.18 percent from the fourth quarter, compared with a 7.23 percent increase nationwide, and was up 16.02 percent from the first quarter a year earlier, compared with the first quarter of 2009. On a national basis, year-over-year foreclosures grew by an average of 16 percent. http://insiderealestatenews.com/2010/04/denver-ranked-no-49-for-foreclosures/ [...]
[...] Denver Ranks 49th for foreclosures | InsideRealEstateNews.com [...]
[...] Denver ranked No. 49 for foreclosures: Foreclosures are occurring at a faster-clip in the Denver-Aurora area than the national average, according to a national first-quarter report released today. The Denver-Aurora area ranked No. 49 out of 206 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif. One out of every 116 households in the Denver-Aurora area was in some stage of foreclosure, according to the company that sells real estate foreclosure data. That compares to the U.S. average of one household out of ever 138 homes in some stage of foreclosure. RealtyTrac counts every step of the foreclosure process ? from the first filing until it become an REO (Real Estate Owned) property owned by the foreclosing lender ? and then adds them. The foreclosure rate in the first quarter rose 11.18 percent from the fourth quarter, compared with a 7.23 percent increase nationwide, and was up 16.02 percent from the first quarter a year earlier, compared with the first quarter of 2009. On a national basis, year-over-year foreclosures grew by an average of 16 percent. Go to Article (Insiderealestatenews.com) [...]