Foreclosure sales at public trustee auction dropped to a 20-month low in Colorado’s major metropolitan counties in November. According to a report released today by the Colorado Division of Housing, foreclosure sales fell 8.6 percent from October to November continuing a trend downward in foreclosure activity in Colorado.
Comparing year-over-year, foreclosure sales fell 21 percent in November, although for the 11-month period from January through November of this year, foreclosure sales are up 14.6 percent compared to the same period last year. There were 1,195 foreclosures that proceeded to sale at auction during November 2010 in Colorado’s metropolitan counties, compared to October’s total of 1,308. There were 1,512 sales during November of last year.
Foreclosure filings fall
New foreclosure filings totals continued to fall as well. Although filings increased 4.6 percent from November 2009 to November 2010, total filings for the 11-month period of January through November are down 10.0 percent this year compared to the same period last year. Filings fell 4.2 percent from October to November. There were 2,932 foreclosure filings during November 2010 in the metro counties, compared to October’s total of 3,059. There were 2,802 filings during November of last year.
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.
“Looking at the past several months, we can say that for now there is an overall downward trend in both filings and sales at auction” said Ryan McMaken, a spokesperson for the Colorado Division of Housing. “Record numbers of properties entered the foreclosure process in 2009, but things have improved this year as the job situation has somewhat stabilized and there continues to be a surprisingly strong demand for residential real estate in Colorado. Thousands of Coloradans also continue to take advantage of the state’s Foreclosure Hotline, which certainly helps.”
With the exception of Mesa County, all metropolitan counties showed decreases in foreclosure sales at auction, comparing year-over-year. From November 2009 to November 2010, foreclosure sales rose 26.1 percent in Mesa County, but foreclosure sales fell 27.8 percent in Pueblo County, and they fell 27.2 percent and 25.3 percent in Jefferson County and El Paso County, respectively.
Foreclosure filings trends were mixed in Colorado’s metro counties. From November 2009 to November 2010, in Pueblo and Mesa counties, filings increased 47.9 percent and 58.1 percent, respectively. On the other hand, filings fell 28.5 percent and 27.6 percent in Denver and Broomfield Counties, respectively.
County 2009 2010 Percent Change
Adams 2515 4502 -13.7%
Arapahoe 5590 5005 -10.5%
Boulder 1316 1257 -4.5%
Broomfield 306 277 -9.5%
Denver 5740 4661 -18.8%
Douglas 2408 2287 -5.0%
El Paso 4886 4396 -10.0%
Jefferson 3670 3509 -4.4%
Larimer 1947 1675 -14.0%
Mesa 1058 1544 45.9%
Pueblo 1456 1308 -10.2%
Weld 3036 2561 -15.6%
Total 36,628 32,982 -10.0%
