Foreclosure sales at auction increased year over year last month for the first time in 14 months, but both filings and sales remains down by more than 20 percent so far this year. According to a report released Tuesday by the Colorado Division of Housing, foreclosure auction sales in Colorado’s metropolitan counties were up 7.9 percent in November compared to November of last year. However, comparing the first eleven months of this year to the same period last year, foreclosure filings were down 28.6 percent through November while foreclosure auction sales were down 20.7 percent.
New foreclosure filings fell year over year during November with total filings dropping 21.7 percent from 2,932 filings in November 2010 to 2,296 filings in November of this year. Foreclosure auction sales increased during the same period from 1,195 to 1,290.
From October 2011 to November 2011, foreclosure filings fell 2.3 percent, and foreclosure sales at auction rose 37.5 percent.
Foreclosure auction sales through November fell year over year from 2010’s eleven-month total of 18,728 to 14,854 during the same period this year. Foreclosure filings were also down through November, falling to 23,556 filings year-to-date this year from last year’s eleven-month total of 32,982.
“It looks like the big decreases in foreclosure filings that we saw during the first half of the year are behind us, but even with some recent mild increases in new foreclosure activity, Colorado is still going to end 2011 with far fewer foreclosures than it saw during 2010, said Ryan McMaken, a spokesman with the Colorado Division of Housing. “From last fall through last summer, foreclosure activity was really pushed down by a lender-initiated slowdown in foreclosure processing, but the effects of that seem to be lessening now.”
Year-to-date through November, the counties with the largest decreases in foreclosure filings, year-over-year, were Mesa County and Denver County, where filings decreased by 35.2 percent and 32.2 percent, respectively. Pueblo County reported the smallest decline in filings with a decrease of 12.5 percent from the first eleven months of 2010 to the same period this year. All counties surveyed reported year-over-year decreases in foreclosure filings.
For the first eleven months of this year, all counties also showed decreases in foreclosure auction sales when compared to the same period last year. The counties with the largest decreases in foreclosure auction sales, year-over-year, were Broomfield County and Adams County, where auction sales decreased by 40.3 percent and 27.0 percent, respectively. Pueblo County reported the smallest decline in auction sales with a decrease of 9.1 percent from the first eleven months of 2010 to the same period this year.
The county with the highest rate of foreclosure sales during November was Adams County with a rate of 681 households per foreclosure sale. Mesa County came in second with 792 households per foreclosure sale. The lowest rate was found in Boulder County where there were 3,402 households per foreclosure sale.
The Division of Housing’s monthly foreclosure report surveys foreclosure activity in the twelve largest counties of Colorado. The report is a supplement to the Division’s quarterly foreclosure report that includes all counties in Colorado.
