Housing News Digest, November 9

Home supply dwindles

As the year nears a close, the Denver metro market is seeing a sharp drop-off in inventories of homes and condos, according to a monthly report released on Tuesday by Jack O’Connor, broker/owner of The Denver 100 Real Estate.

“The story now is all about declining inventory, and about how that will affect demand for lower priced housing in the coming year,” said O’Connor. He added that for condominium product, falling inventory is particularly pronounced. O’Connor has authored his monthly ‘So How’s the Market?’ letter for the past eight years.

An earlier report by independent broker Gary Bauer showed that there were only 15,794 unsold homes and condominiums on the market, a 27.7 percent drop from the unsold inventory in October 2010, which stood at 21,851. Bauer and O’Connor base their reports on data from Metrolist Inc.

Bond sale aids Clermont Park
Christian Living Communities , local a local not-for-profit that owns and operates three metro-Denver retirement communities, on Tuesday announced the sale of $36.5 million in bonds to be used expand one of its southeast Denver communities.

Colo. foreclosure rates rise outside of metro area Bloomber/BusinessWeek
Communities outside the Front Range are feeling the foreclosure pain despite a 27 percent drop in foreclosure filings in Colorado.

A report released early Tuesday by the Colorado Division of Housing says new foreclosure notices fell to 23,338 during the first nine months of 2011, down from 32,009 filings during the same period last year. All 12 of the Denver metro counties saw drops in filings, with Adams falling 32 percent and Denver down 31 percent.

Another foreclosure wave hitting
Foreclosure filings in Pueblo and the rest of the state are rising again, housing experts say. The upturn comes as the nation's top mortgage lenders roll out their revamped foreclosure policies.

Housing experts do not think the wave will reach as high as the peak year of 2009. They point to data showing that the worst of the foreclosure crisis appears to be over in the state's larger cities.

Foreclosure rate in Mesa County 12th worst in state
Mesa County’s foreclosure rate jumped from 44th in the state in the third quarter of 2009 to 12th in the third quarter of 2011 despite little change in the actual rate.

One out of every 254 Mesa County homes completed the foreclosure process between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to the Colorado Division of Housing. One out of every 283 homes finished the foreclosure process in the same months in 2009.

Local housing recovery lags state
A report from the state Division of Housing paints a bleak picture of Pueblo's housing market five years after the subprime mortgage meltdown.

Among the major findings of the division's new report, "Pueblo Area Housing Snapshot:"

Home building is still down 90 percent from 2006's peak levels, suggesting "that new construction in housing in Pueblo is not rebounding as quickly as it is in other parts of the state."

Boulder County foreclosures down 28 percent YTD
LONGMONT -- Through the first three quarters, 2011 has seen a decline in both the number of foreclosure filings and sales of foreclosed homes in Boulder County, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Colorado Division of Housing.

In the third quarter, 732 homes were foreclosed on, a 28 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2010.

Sales of foreclosed homes in Boulder County dropped to 120 from 160 in the third quarter last year, a 25 percent drop.

Home foreclosures down in 2011 (Fox31)
“The only way to reset the housing market is to reduce the principal on all underwater mortgages.” said Jenny Weyel.

While the good news is a bit tempered, no one is throwing a party because the numbers could begin to climb again at any time.

Foreclosures, confidence drop
Foreclosures in Larimer County continue to decline, according to the state's quarterly report on foreclosure activity across Colorado.

As statewide foreclosures fell 27 percent during the third quarter this year over the same period last year, they fell 24.3 percent for the same period in Larimer County, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

While that puts the county in only a slightly weaker position than the state as a whole, foreclosures increased by 9 percent in Larimer County between the second quarter and third quarters of the year.