The report showed 17,087 homes in some stage of foreclosure, ranging from the initial notice to the REO, or Real Estate Owned, when the bank acquires the home at a public trustee foreclosure auction. In the Denver area, 1.62 percent of the homes were in some stage of foreclosure, compared with 1.28 percent for the nation. One out of every 62 households was in some stage of foreclosure, while the national average was one out of 78. In the first six months of the year, the foreclosure rate rose by 9.3 in the Denver area, compared with an 8.26 percent for the nation.

Greeley’s foreclosure rate worse than Denver’s

Greeley was No. 29, with 2,334 foreclosures, a foreclosure rate of 2.58 percent, and one out of every 40 households in some stage of foreclosure. It matched the year-over-year percentage change of the nation as a whole, at 8.26%

The report also ranked Colorado Springs as No. 53 and Boulder at 136.

Across the country, 154 of the 206 MSAs with a population of at least 200,000, posted year-over-year increase in foreclosure activity, according to RealtyTrac. Four states — Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona — accounted for all top 20 metro foreclosure rates. Florida led the way, with nine of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates, followed by California with eight, Nevada with two and Arizona with one.

Recovery fragile

“While we’re seeing early signs that foreclosure activity may have peaked in some of the hardest-hit markets, foreclosures continued to rise in three-quarters of the nation’s metropolitan areas in the first half of the year,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The fragile stability achieved in many local housing markets hinges on improvements in the underlying economy, specifically job growth. If unemployment remains persistently high and foreclosure prevention efforts only delay the inevitable, then we could continue to see increased foreclosure activity and a corresponding weakness in home prices in many metro areas.”

Top metro foreclosure rates

Las Vegas continued to post the nation’s highest metro foreclosure rate in the first half of the year, with 6.60 percent of its housing units (one in 15) receiving a foreclosure filing — more than five times the national average. A total of 53,525 Las Vegas properties received a foreclosure filing during the six-month period, a decrease of nearly 15 percent from the previous six months and a decrease of nearly 9 percent from the first half of 2009.

Foreclosure activity in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., metro area decreased nearly 22 percent from the previous six months and was down nearly 30 percent from the first half of 2009, but the metro area still documented the nation’s second highest metro foreclosure rate — 4.98 percent of its housing units (one in 20) received a foreclosure filing during the six-month period. Other Florida cities in the top 10 were Orlando-Kissimmee at No. 8 (4.15 percent of housing units) and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 10 (3.89 percent).

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.

Share this:

The report showed there were 30,177 properties in some stage of foreclosure through June. That equates to one out every 71 homes, which is close to the national average of one out of every 78 homes in some state of foreclosure, from the initial filing to REO (Real Estate Owned) when the bank takes back the home.

The number of homes in foreclosure in the first six months of the year have risen 13.6% compared to the same period in 2009. Nationally, the increase was 8.26 percent, according to the Irvine, Calif.-based company.

Nationally, it reported 1.96 million foreclosure filings on 1.654 properties, which is a 5 percent decrease in properties from the previous six months. In the previous six months, from July to December 2009, foreclosure activity in Colorado fell by 9.1 percent.

“The second quarter was a tale of two trends,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The pace of properties entering foreclosure slowed as lenders pre-empted or delayed foreclosure proceedings on delinquent properties with more aggressive short sale and loan modification initiatives. Meanwhile the pace of properties completing the foreclosure process through bank repossession quickened as lenders cleared out a backlog of distressed inventory delayed by foreclosure prevention efforts in 2009.

“The midyear numbers put us on pace to exceed 3 million properties with foreclosure filings by the end of the year, and more than 1 million bank repossessions,” Saccacio added. “The roller coaster pattern of foreclosure activity over the past 12 months demonstrates that while the foreclosure problem is being managed on the surface, a massive number of distressed properties and underwater loans continues to sit just below the surface, threatening the fragile stability of the housing market.”

Colorado not out of the woods

Ryan McMaken, of the Colorado Division of Housing, which tracks foreclosures in Colorado using a different methodology than RealtyTrac, said that Saccacio’s observations mirror what he is seeing.

“The trends for new foreclosure filings (in Colorado) are encouraging, but the number of completed foreclosures continues to show few signs of a fast decline,” McMaken said. “Their mixed total of filings and completed foreclosures for the first half of the year is at a rate that reflects what I’m seeing, and I would be surprised to see any big swings in foreclosure data right now. Foreclosure activity in the state continues to move along a high plateau that may be coming down slightly, but there are few indications that numbers will move rapidly upward or downward very soon.”

But he said that RealtyTrac’s methodology does leave some questions unanswered. “Since Realtyrac doesn’t break out the state trends for the first half of the year between new filings and completed foreclosures, or provide a time series, it’s difficult to say if their local data reflects the same trend,” McMacken said.

Short sale activity grow

Tom Cryer, a broker with the Kentwood Co., recently complete an analysis of Denver-area housing, which he said clearly shows that foreclosure activity peaked in 2008. However, bank foreclosures have been replaced with short sales, in which the lender agrees to accept a sale for less than the mortgage amount.  He described short sales as “thinly veiled foreclosures.” Nationally, Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate, with almost 6 percent of its homes, one in 17, receiving at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of the year, according to RealtyTrac. Arizona and Florida were No. 2 and No.3, respectively.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865

Share this:

The report by RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif., for the first time released a report tracking third-party sales by banks. The sales, which occur during any phase of the foreclosure process, typically fall into two broad categories, Rick Sharga, spokesman for RealtyTrac told InsideRealEstateNews. The first category is short sales, in which the bank agrees to accept less than the mortgage amount. The second category is after the bank has acquired the home in what is known as a REO (Real Estate Owned) and subsequently sells it to someone else.

In the fall, RealtyTrac plans to start breaking out short-sale data for each state, Sharga said.

An earlier report by the Colorado Division of Housing, showed 6,686 foreclosed homes being sold at public trustee auctions in Colorado during the first quarter.

Tracking short sales

“Our number for total sales is very close to that number,” Sharga said. “With this report, w were looking at third-party, arms-length sales. We did not count the foreclosure sales when the bank was the highest bidder.” Banks often bid the amount of the outstanding loan, as that does not cost them any money out of pocket. Investors can bid more, if they think the house is worth more. Typically, if a house had equity in it – that is the house had value beyond the loan amount – the homeowner would be better off selling the home on the open market. It’s estimated that nationally, one out of every four mortgages is underwater.

“There 4,535 number does still seem surprisingly low,” said Ryan McMaken, of the Colorado Division of Housing, who researches and authors state-wide foreclosure reports. “RealtyTrac is obviously using a different methodology that we do. I think their data will be valuable for future comparisons, rather than the absolute numbers.”

We’re talking $866 million in home sales

According to RealtyTrac, first-quarter, third-party foreclosure sales are down 30.21 percent from the first quarter of 2009 and down 16.79 percent form the fourth quarter of 2009. That is down slightly from the respective national averages of 33.18 percent in the third quarter 2009 and 14.04 percent in teh fourth quarter. The average sales price of a a home was $191,006, about 11 percent higher than the national average of $171,971. The total value of the 4,535 homes is about $866.2 million. The overall average discount was 24.51 percent. In other words, more than $1 billion of homes would have impacted , if they could have fetched market prices. The average REO discount in Colorado was 30 percent, compared with 34 percent for the nation, while the average pre-foreclosure discount was 17.62 percent in Colorado, compared with 14.77 percent for the nation.

“I think Colorado has settled down quite a bit,” Sharga said. “I don’t think they are out of the woods, yet. I think the worst is over, unless you get hit with another wave of unemployment. Colorado does appear to be in danger of that happening, and Colorado seems to be weathering this economic storm better than most places.

McMaken, of the housing division, noted that foreclosure activity was peaking in 2007 in Colorado, at a time when the rest of the nation was just staring to feel the brunt of record numbers of people losing their homes.

National numbers

Colorado accounted for about 2 percent of the 232,959 U.S. properties in some stage of  foreclosure — default, scheduled for  auction or bank-owned (REO) — sold to third parties in the first quarter, a decrease of 14 percent from the previous quarter and down 33 percent from the peak during the first quarter of 2009, when sales of foreclosure homes accounted for 37 percent of all residential sales.

“First time home buyers and investors continue to buy foreclosure properties in large numbers, and at substantial discounts,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “As lenders have begun repossessing homes at record levels over the first half of 2010, it will be interesting to watch how they will manage the inventory levels of distressed properties on the market in order to prevent more dramatic price deterioration.”

The average sales prices on properties in some stage of foreclosure decreased 23 percent from 2006 to 2009 while the average discounts on foreclosure purchases steadily increased from 21 percent in 2006 to 27 percent in the first quarter of 2010. Discounts on REOs are larger than discounts on pre-foreclosures. However, discounts on pre-foreclosures appear to be trending higher as short sales become more common.

Foreclosure sales increase 2,500 percent from 2005 to 2009 More than 1.2 million U.S. properties in some stage of foreclosure sold to third parties in 2009, an increase of 25 percent from 2008 and an increase of nearly 327 percent from 2007. Total foreclosure sales in 2009 were up more than 1,100 percent from 2006 and up more than 2,500 percent from 2005. Foreclosure sales accounted for 29 percent of all sales in 2009, up from 23 percent in 2008 and up from 6 percent in 2007.

Foreclosures carry 25 percent discount

The average sales price of properties that sold while in some stage of foreclosure in 2009 was 25 percent below the average sales price of properties not in the foreclosure process. That was up from an average discount of 22 percent in 2008 but down from an average discount of 26 percent in 2007. The average foreclosure discount in 2005 was 35 percent, driven by a nearly 50 percent discount on REOs; however, the discount on pre-foreclosures trended up slightly over the same five-year period, from nearly 12 percent in 2005 to 15 percent in 2008 and 2009.

A total of 144,503 bank-owned properties sold to third parties in the first quarter, down 13 percent from the previous quarter and down 27 percent from the first quarter of 2009. REO sales accounted for 19 percent of all sales in the first quarter, up from nearly 16 percent in the previous quarter but down from 21 percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2009. REOs sold for an average discount of 34 percent, up from an average discount of nearly 32 percent in both the previous quarter and the first quarter of 2009.

A total of 88,456 pre-foreclosure properties — in default or scheduled for auction — sold to third parties in the first quarter, down 15 percent from the previous quarter and down nearly 41 percent from the first quarter of 2009. Pre-foreclosure sales accounted for nearly 12 percent of all sales, up from nearly 10 percent in the previous quarter but down from 16 percent in the first quarter of 2009.  Pre-foreclosures, which are often short sales, sold for an average discount of nearly 15 percent, up from nearly 14 percent in the previous quarter but down from 16 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

Nevada, California, Arizona hit hardest

Nevada, California, Arizona posted highest percentage of foreclosure sales in the first quarter, accounting  for 64 percent of all sales in Nevada in the first quarter, the highest percentage of any state, although Nevada’s percentage was down from 65 percent of all sales in the previous quarter and 75 percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2009.

California posted the second highest percentage, with foreclosure sales accounting for 51 percent of all sales there in the first quarter — up slightly from 50 percent in the previous quarter but down from 70 percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2009. Foreclosure sales as a percentage of all sales were also down in Arizona from the first quarter of 2009, but the state still posted the third highest percentage in the first quarter, with foreclosure sales accounting for 50 percent of all sales.

Other states where foreclosure sales accounted for at least one-third of all sales were Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Idaho and Oregon. Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois had the highest foreclosure discounts.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.

Share this:

Colorado foreclosure activity in May took a breather in May.

Colorado’s foreclosure rate was No. 12 in the nation last month, with foreclosure activity falling 24.1 percent from April and 0.68 percent from May 2009, shows a report by RealtyTrac, a company based in Irvine, Calif., which tracks and markets foreclosure data.

Colorado showed a much bigger drop than the national average, which overall booked a 3.3 percent drop from April and showed a 0.45 percent increase from May.

The last time this year that Colorado was ranked No. 12 was in January. In February it had the 11th highest foreclosure rate in the nation and it was No. 10 in March and April, according to RealtyTrac.

In Colorado, one out of every 444 households was in some stage of foreclosure in May, compared with the national average of one out of every 400 households. There were a total of 4,843 homes in some stage of foreclosure last month, which represents about 1.5 percent of the 322,920 homes nationwide in some state of foreclosure, ranging from the initial notice to REO – Real Estate Owned, which is when the bank takes the home back following the foreclosure sale.

California, Arizona and Florida suffering much more

“The trends here more or less reflect what we’re seeing in Colorado,” said Ryan McMaken, of the Colorado Division of Housing, which tracks foreclosure activity in the Denver area and the state, using a different methodology than RealtyTrac.

“The preliminary state data for May indicates that May foreclosure totals in filings are down compared to last month, and compared to May of last year, McMaken said. “Completed foreclosures will likely prove to be generally flat compared with May of last year.”

He said that Colorado “more often that not,” has been below the national foreclosure rate in recent months. He noted that the Mortgage Bankers Association data, for example, has been showing Colorado in the bottom half of the states for new foreclosure activity.

“It’s noteworthy that the foreclosure rates in California, Arizona and Florida, are more than twice as bad as the foreclosure rate in Colorado, so Colorado certainly shouldn’t be lumped in with these states anymore when it comes to foreclosure activity,” McMaken said.

On a national basis, May “continued and confirmed” a trend of the leveling off of foreclosure activity as “lenders work through the backlog of distressed properties that have built up over the past 20 months,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Defaults and scheduled auctions combined increased by 28 percent from 2007 to 2008 and another 32 percent from 2008 to 2009 — creating a build-up of delayed bank repossessions. Lenders appear to be ramping up the pace of completing those forestalled foreclosures even while the inflow of delinquencies into the foreclosure process has slowed.”

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.

Share this:

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

Share this:

In Colorado, one out of every 134 households was in some stage of foreclosure during the first three months of the year, very close to the national average of one out of every 138 households, according to the report by RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif.-based company that collects and sells foreclosure data.

Several years ago, Colorado was routinely listed in the top three states as far as foreclosure rates, according to RealtyTrac, a dubious title it no longer holds, as other states such as California, Florida and Nevada have seen their foreclosure rates skyrocket.

“We’re coming in very close to the national average on most measures,” said Ryan McMaken, of the Colorado Division of Housing. McMaken also tracks foreclosure rates in Colorado, using a different methodology than RealtyTrac.

Despite not counting every aspect of the foreclosure process – from the first notice from the county public trustee office until it becomes a real estate owned (REO) property held by the bank – McMaken said RealtyTrac’s data is within 10 percent of his tally, for filings and completed foreclosures.

McMaken said that mid-sized counties in Colorado are starting to show an increased number of foreclosures, which is not the case for the larger counties.

Overall, RealtyTrac shows a 27.12 percent increase in Colorado from the first quarter of 2009, compared with a 16.02 percent for the U.S.

Foreclosures artificially low a year ago

“That sizable year-over-year percent increase for the first quarter should be taken with a grain of salt since the first quarter totals last year were so impacted by the existence of the moratoria that only started to be phased out in March,” McMaken said. “So, totals were “unnaturally” low due to the moratoria a year ago.”

Colorado showed an 8.99 pecent increase from the fourth quarter, compared to a 7.23 percent for the entire country.

Nationwide, RealtyTrac shows that foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 932,234 properties in the first quarter. Foreclosure filings were reported on 367,056 properties in March, an increase of nearly 19 percent from the previous month, an increase of nearly 8 percent from March 2009 and the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in January 2005.

“Foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2010 followed a very similar pattern to what we saw in the first quarter of 2009: a shallow trough in January and February followed by a substantial spike in March,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “One difference, however, is that the increases were more tilted toward the final stage of foreclosure, with REOs increasing 9 percent on a quarterly basis in the first quarter of 2010 compared to a 13 percent quarterly decrease in REOs in the first quarter of 2009.

Record quarter by one measure

“This subtle shift in the numbers pushed REOs to the highest quarterly total we’ve ever seen in our report and may be further evidence that lenders are starting to make a dent in the backlog of distressed inventory that has built up over the last year as foreclosure prevention programs and processing delays slowed down the normal foreclosure timeline.”

During the quarter a total of 304,799 properties received default notices (Notices of Default and Lis Pendens), an increase of 1 percent from the previous quarter but down 1 percent from the first quarter of 2009. Default notices were down nearly 11 percent from a peak of more than 342,000 in the third quarter of 2009.

Foreclosure auctions were scheduled for the first time on a total of 369,491 properties during the quarter, the highest quarterly total for scheduled auctions in the history of the report. Scheduled auctions increased 12 percent from the previous quarter and were up 21 percent from the first quarter of 2009.

Bank repossessions (REOs) also hit a record high for the report in the first quarter, with a total of 257,944 properties repossessed by the lender during the quarter — an increase of 9 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of 35 percent from the first quarter of 2009.

Nevada, Arizona, Florida top states

As it has for the past 13 quarters, Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in the first quarter of 2010. One in every 33 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, more than four times the national average and an increase of nearly 15 percent from the previous quarter. Still, Nevada’s total of 34,557 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in the first quarter was down 16 percent from the first quarter of 2009.

Arizona foreclosure activity in the first quarter increased on a quarterly and annual basis, helping the state to post the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate for the third consecutive quarter. One in every 49 Arizona properties received a foreclosure filing during the quarter — nearly three times the national average.

With one in every 57 Florida properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter, the state posted the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate for the second straight quarter. Florida’s first-quarter foreclosure activity increased on a quarterly and annual basis.

California foreclosure activity decreased 6 percent from the first quarter of 2009, but the state still documented the nation’s fourth highest foreclosure rate — one in every 62 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Utah foreclosure activity increased 75 percent from the first quarter of 2009, the highest annual increase among states with top-10 foreclosure rates and giving it the nation’s fifth highest state foreclosure rate. Foreclosure filings were reported on 10,756 Utah properties, a rate of one in every 88 housing units and an increase of 21 percent from the previous quarter.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in the first quarter were Michigan, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois and Colorado.

Ten states account for more than 70 percent of total

California alone accounted for 23 percent of the nation’s total foreclosure activity in the first quarter, with 216,263 properties receiving a foreclosure notice — the nation’s highest foreclosure activity total.

Florida’s total was second highest, with 153,540 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter, and Arizona’s total was third highest, with 55,686 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter.  Despite a nearly 5 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous quarter, Illinois documented the fourth highest foreclosure activity total, with 45,780 properties receiving a foreclosure filing — still a 17 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009.

A total of 45,732 Michigan properties received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, the fifth highest state total. Michigan foreclosure activity increased nearly 11 percent from the previous quarter and was up nearly 38 percent from the first quarter of 2009.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-68685.

Share this:

Overall, Colorado ranked No. 11 nationwide, shows the report by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac. A few years ago, Colorado was typically ranked in the top three. Even last year, Colorado consistently was in the top 10, as far as its foreclosure rate. But Colorado’s ranking has slipped, while the foreclosure rate has climbed in other parts of the country, especially California, Nevada and Florida.

“The latest report seems to be continuing the trend in which Colorado ranks near the national average in its foreclosure rate,” said Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing, who uses a different methodology to track foreclosures in Colorado.

Colorado’s foreclosure rate in February rose by 22.2 percent from February 2009, while the overall national increase was 6.22 percent, according to RealtyTrac. And from January, Colorado’s foreclosure rate rose 2.49 percent, while the nation as a whole saw a month-to-month decline of 2.28 percent. RealtyTrac tracks every aspect of foreclosures, from the first notice to delinquent homeowners until the property becomes a REO and is in the hands of the lender.

Colorado 39th in delinquent loans

But McMaken said that RealyTrac’s numbers do not tell the entire story.

“As usual, the Realtytrac state rankings should be checked against the mortgage bankers data which shows Colorado at 39th in the nation for the number of loans that are seriously delinquent,” McMaken said. “The fact that Colorado is falling much more quickly in delinquency rankings than in Realtytrac rankings would lead me to conclude that Colorado is very slowly dealing with its accumulated inventory of foreclosing properties, but that the rate at which new properties are defaulting in Colorado is slowing at a much faster rate.

“This all only tells us what’s going on in Colorado relative to other states, of course. Colorado is clearly improving compared to other states, but still has its own set of challenges, and is improving only very slowly over past annual activity”

McMaken also said that the 22 percent year-over-year comparison is misleading, although he said a state report, that likely will be released next week, also will show an increase.

“However, it is important to keep in mind that there was very little activity in February 2009 due to moratoria put on foreclosures by major servicers and investors,” McMaken said. “This means a year-over-year comparison will show a large increase in foreclosure, but it does not mean that the real estate markets have deteriorated in that time to the same extent.”

U.S. foreclosure rise 6%

Nationwide, RealtyTrac showed 308,524  foreclosure filings –  default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions –   6 percent above the level reported in February 2009.

“The 6 percent year-over-year increase we saw in February was the smallest annual increase we’ve seen since January 2006, when we began calculating year-over-year increases, but it still marked the 50th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “This leveling of the foreclosure trend is not necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are in effect capping monthly foreclosure activity — albeit at a historically high level that will likely continue for an extended period.

“In addition, severe winter weather appears to have temporarily slowed the processing of foreclosure records in some Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states.”

Foreclosure activity by type

Default notices (Notices of Default and Lis Pendens) were reported on a total of 106,208 U.S. properties during the month, an increase of 3 percent from the previous month but down 3 percent from February 2009. Default notices were down 25 percent from their peak of more than 142,000 in April 2009 but were still more than three times the number they were four years ago in February 2006. Foreclosure auctions (Notices of Trustee’s Sale and Notices of Sheriff’s Sales) were scheduled for the first time on a total of 123,633 U.S. properties, a decrease of 1 percent from the previous month but still 16 percent higher than the level reported in February 2009. Scheduled auctions were down 14 percent from their peak of more than 144,000 in August 2009 but were also about three times higher than the number reported in February 2006. Bank repossessions (REOs) were reported on a total of 78,683 U.S. properties during the month, a 10 percent decrease from the previous month but an increase of 6 percent from February 2009. Bank repossessions were down nearly 15 percent from their peak of more than 92,000 in December 2009 but were at nearly twice the level reported in February 2006.

Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates

Nevada foreclosure activity decreased nearly 7 percent from the previous month and was down 30 percent from February 2009, but the state’s foreclosure rate continued to rank highest in the nation for the 38th month in a row. One in every 102 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month — more than four times the national average. Arizona and Florida documented nearly identical foreclosure rates, with one in every 163 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in both states. Despite a nearly 21 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month, Arizona’s rate was statistically slightly higher than Florida’s rate and ranked second highest among the states. California’s foreclosure rate ranked fourth highest among the states, with one in every 195 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, and Michigan’s foreclosure rate ranked fifth highest among the states, with one in every 226 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Other states with foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest were Utah (one in every 275 housing units), Idaho (one in 296), Illinois (one in 305), Georgia (one in 331) and Maryland (one in 407.)

6 states account for 60% of foreclosures

Six states account for more than 60 percent of national total in February. California led the way, with 68,562 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month — down nearly 5 percent from the previous month and down 15 percent fromFebruary 2009. Foreclosure activity in Florida increased nearly 15 percent from the previous month and was up more than 16 percent from February 2009. The state continued to post the nation’s second highest total, with 54,032 properties received a foreclosure filing during the month. Increasing foreclosure activity boosted Michigan’s total to third highest among the states. A total of 20,028 Michigan properties received a foreclosure filing during the month — up nearly 14 percent from the previous month and up 59 percent from February 2009. With 17,312 properties receiving a foreclosure filing, Illinois posted the fourth highest total, followed by Arizona, with 16,718 properties receiving a foreclosure filing, and Texas, with 12,638 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in February. Other states with totals among the 10 highest in the country were Georgia (12,177), Ohio (11,286), Nevada (11,035), and Maryland (5,732).

Divergent trends

Metro areas in the Sun Belt states of Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona continued to dominate the top 10 highest foreclosure rates among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, but activity trends in these areas varied considerably. The Las Vegas metro area documented the highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 90 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, despite a 9 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month. Six of the other metro areas in the top 10 — all in California or Arizona — also reported decreasing foreclosure activity from the previous month. The biggest monthly decrease among the top 10 was in the Phoenix metro area, where foreclosure activity dropped nearly 18 percent. In contrast, the two Florida metro areas in the top 10 both posted substantial monthly increases in foreclosure activity. The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area saw a 31 percent increase in foreclosure activity from the previous month, giving it the second highest metro foreclosure rate — one in every 92 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. An increase of nearly 66 percent in foreclosure activity from the previous month helped boost the foreclosure rate in Port St. Lucie to sixth highest.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.

Share this:

The ranking is a marked improvement from just a few years ago, when Colorado’s foreclosure rate was leading the nation, according to RealtyTrac, the Irvine, Calif.-based company that released the report. In 2006, Colorado was No. 1 for the most of the year. In 2007, it was usually ranked in the top three.  Even as foreclosure rates soared in other states, surpassing Colorado’s rate, the state was typically on RealtyTrac’s top 10 list.

1 out of 428 households in foreclosure

For January, one out of every 428 households in Colorado was in some stage of foreclosure, compared with the overall U.S. average of one out of every 409 households. And while the national foreclosure rate dropped 9.67 percent from December, Colorado’s dropped by 16.31 percent.   Some 5,029 homes were in some stage of foreclosure from the first Notice of Default to REO (Real Estate Owned) when the bank takes over the property following a public trustee auction, according to RealtyTrac, which collects and sells real estate data.

Colorado holding its own

Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing, which is last week released its own foreclosure report, using a different methodology, said it makes sense that Colorado has a lower foreclosure rate than the national average, ” given the unprecedented growth in foreclosures in places like Florida, California, Arizona and Michigan.  Colorado simply wasn’t able to keep up with those places when it came to new foreclosures.”

Also, Colorado’s unemployment rate is lower than the national average of just below 10 percent.

“Now employment is the driving factor, and since Colorado has a better unemployment rate than the national average, I expect to see foreclosures here continue to fall behind the national rate,” McMaken said.

Still, “we shouldn’t be smug, of course,” he added. “There’s still no positive job growth in Colorado and we have yet to see what will happen when the home buyer tax credits finally expire,” later this year.

For the entire nation, there were 315,716 properties in January in some stage of the foreclosure process, according to RealtyTrac. REO activity nationwide was down 5 percent from the previous month, but up 31 percent from January 2009; default notices were down 12 percent from the previous month, but up 4 percent from January 2009; and scheduled foreclosure auctions were down 11 percent from the previous month, but up 15 percent from January 2009.

Foreclosure surge may be coming

“January foreclosure numbers are exhibiting a pattern very similar to a year ago: a double-digit percentage jump in December foreclosure activity followed by a 10 percent drop in January,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac “If history repeats itself we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose onsdelinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs or the new short saleand deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives works.”

Nevada was ranked No. 1, with one out of every 95 homes in some stage of foreclosure. Nevada has had that dubious honor for 37 consecutive months. California, Florida and Arizona posted the three highest state totals in terms of properties receiving foreclosure filings in January, and together those states accounted for more than 44 percent of the national total.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.

Share this:

One out of every 36 households in the Denver area received some kind of foreclosure notice last year, according to RealtyTrac’s Year-End 2009 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report released today. That compares to one out of 45 households nationally.

While foreclosures across the U.S. were up 21.2 percent from, they were down about 12 percent in the Denver area, according to RealyTrac.

The Greeley area was ranked No. 29, with one out of 24 households receiving a foreclosure notice, up 6.5 percent from 2008. Colorado Springs was No. 50, with one of 39 households in foreclosure, an 11 percent increase from 2008. Fort Collins-Loveland was No. 70, with one out of 50 households in foreclosure, 19.7% higher than in 2008, and Boulder was ranked 115th, with one out 77 households in foreclosure, a 28 percent jump  from 2008.

Ryan McMaken, of the Colorado Division of Housing, who plans to release his own statewide-foreclosure report next Thursday, today said the RealtyTrac numbers seem to capture what is happening in Colorado. However, he said because of RealtyTrac’s methodology of combining all foreclosure actions and treating them as one number, its data will differ for his. McMaken tracks  initial filings and public trustee sales, separately, for example, while RealtyTrac combines them, along with REOs, which are homes taken back by banks.

“In much of  Colorado – especially in the Denver area – foreclosure activity peaked a couple of years ago, while now other parts of the country foreclosure rates are growing,” McMaken said. “The general trend of their report seems accurate. Of course, our reports will differ as far as actual numbers.”

Nationwide, the report shows that cities in four Sun Belt states accounted for all top 20 foreclosure rates in 2009 among metro areas with a population of 200,000 or more, but foreclosure activity showed signs of spreading into previously insulated areas asunemployment became more of a driving factor.

California accounted for nine of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates, followed by Florida with eight, Nevada with two and Arizona with one. The highest-ranked metro area outside of those four states was in Boise City-Nampa, Idaho, which ranked No. 24 with 4.66 percent of its housing units receiving at least one foreclosure notice in 2009.

“While it was expected that cities from states with the highest levels of foreclosure activity would top the charts, there is evidence that we’re entering a new wave of foreclosures, driven more by unemployment and economic hardship than what we’ve seen over the past few years,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Areas like Provo, Utah,Fayetteville, Ark., Portland, Ore., and Rockford, Ill., all posted foreclosure rates above the U.S. average in 2009. And markets like Honolulu, Minneapolis and Seattle saw foreclosure activity increase at more than twice the national pace over the past 12 months — although all three of those markets still had 2009 foreclosure rates that were at or below the U.S. average.”

Las Vegas posted the nation’s highest metro foreclosure rate for the year, with more than 12 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in 2009 — more than five times the national average. Las Vegas reported a quarter-over-quarter decline in foreclosure activity in the fourth quarter — as did all the other metro areas with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 for 2009.

With 11.87 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in 2009, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., documented the second highest metro foreclosure rate. Other Florida cities in the top 10 were Orlando-Kissimmee at No. 7 (8.17 percent), Port St. Lucie at No. 9 (7.58percent), and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 10 (7.16 percent).Merced, Calif., registered the nation’s third highest metro foreclosure rate, with more than 10 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in 2009. Other California cities in the top 10 were Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 4 (8.80 percent), Stockton at No. 5 (8.62 percent), and Modesto at No. 6 (8.53 percent).

The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metro area in Arizona documented the nation’s eighth highest metro foreclosure rate in 2009, with more than 8 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure notice during the year.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.

Share this:

The good news is that foreclosure filings in Colorado barely rose from 2008 – only a 0.23 percent increase, according to a national report.

The bad news is that Colorado still is ranked No. 10, according to RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, Calif.

The report showed 50,514 total properties in Colorado with some kind of foreclosure action, which equates to 2.37 percent of all housing units in foreclosure. The U.S. average is 2.21 percent.  The report also shows one out of every 42 households in foreclosure, compared with one of every 45 for the U.S. average. Foreclosure activity in Colorado, according to RealtyTrac, rose 28.2 percent from 2007, far below the 120 percent average national increase.

“It’s kind of bizarre that Colorado is still in the top 10,” said Ryan McMaken, noting that the overall rate in Colorado is very close to the national rate. Also, Colorado’s foreclosure activity has been basically flat, while it is still rising in many other parts of the country.

“RealtyTrac combines all of the different kind of foreclosure actions,”McMaken noted, while he separates new filings and homes that actually go to foreclosure sales.

“If you dig deeper, you will find that while our filings are still climbing, the number of sales are going down,” as banks work with borrower to modify loans, he noted. “We do show a net increase in activity, and we probably will continue to do so, as long as the number of filings continue to rise.”

Still, rather than the 10th worst state in the nation as far as foreclosures, he said Colorado is really more in the middle of the pack, he said. That is also affirmed my Mortgage Banker Association numbers, which shows Colorado in the middle of the U.S., as far as delinquent loans.

An earlier report by InsideRealEstateNews.com found that while foreclosure filings in the Denver area rose by 6.4 percent in 2009 from 2008, most of the percentage increases were found in Boulder, Broomfield and Douglas counties, while activity was flat or dropped slightly in Denver and Adams county. (For that report, please visit this blog.)

Nationwide, RealtyTrac  found more than 3.9 million foreclosure actions -  default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 2. 8 million properties in the U.S.  in 2009, a 21 percent increase in total properties from 2008 and a 120 percent increase in total properties from 2007.

Four states accounted for more than 50 percent of the nation’s 2009 total, with more than 1.4 million properties receiving foreclosure filings in California, Florida, Arizona and Illinois. And almost half of those – 632,573 – were in California.

“That means that 46 other states split the remaining half,” noted McMaken. He said some people might think that the foreclosure pain was spread fairly evenly among the states, but that is not the case.

“What that means a lot of states are clumped together, and there will be a very small percent separating them,” McMaken said.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 349,519 U.S. properties foreclosure filings  on 349,519 U.S. properties in December, a 14 percent jump from November  and a 15 percent increase from December 2008 — when a similar monthly jump occurred. Despite the increase in December, foreclosure activity in the fourth quarter decreased 7 percent from the third quarter, although it was still up 18 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008.

“As bad as the 2009 numbers are, they probably would have been worse if not for legislative and industry-related delays in processing delinquent loans,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

“After peaking in July with over 361,000 homes receiving a foreclosure notice, we saw four straight monthly decreases driven primarily by short-term factors: trial loan modifications, state legislation extending the foreclosure process and an overwhelming volume of inventory clogging the foreclosure pipeline. Despite all the delays, foreclosure activity still hit a record high for our report in 2009, capped off by a substantial increase in December. In the long term a massive supply of delinquent loans continues to loom over the housing market, and many of those delinquencies will end up in the foreclosure process in 2010 and beyond as lenders gradually work their way through the backlog.”

Nevada led the nation last year, with more than 10 percent of the homes receiving some type of a foreclosure action in 2009, giving it the dubious distinction of being No. 1 for foreclosures for the third consecutive year.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.

Share this: