By Howard Pankratz
The Denver Post
Both new foreclosure filings and foreclosure auctions sales were down during the first four months of the year when compared to the same period last year, the Colorado Division of Housing said today.
Foreclosure filings in Colorado’s metropolitan counties were down 1.0 percent for the first four months of 2012, comparing year over year, falling from 8,476 to 8,395.
Over the same period, foreclosure auction sales were down 29.0 percent, dropping from 6,177 to 4,387.
For the month of April, foreclosure filings were up 7.3 percent from April 2011 to April 2012 while foreclosure auction sales fell 36.2 percent over the same period.
Foreclosure at auction sales are opened foreclosures that have proceeded through the full foreclosure process to final sales at public auction.
From March 2012 to April 2012, foreclosure filings fell 10.8 percent while foreclosure auction sales rose 6.1 percent.
Since 2008, March and April have tended to be two of the most active months for new foreclosure filings in Colorado, with totals in both filings and auction sales tending to drop off in May.
“March and April tend to be the high points for the year when it comes to foreclosure filings, but this year, those numbers were quite low compared to recent years,” said Ryan McMaken, a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing. “On top of that, every metro area in the state showed a declining trend in foreclosure auction sales, and this suggests that foreclosure prevention efforts in general are continuing to have an effect statewide.”
During the first four months of the year, the counties with the largest changes in foreclosure auction sales, year over year, were Douglas, Denver and Boulder counties where auction sales declined 40.7 percent, 38.1 percent and 38.1 percent, respectively.
Auction sales dropped by only 5.4 percent in Pueblo county, and they grew by 29.6 percent in Broomfield County where 35 auction sales were reported.
All the other counties surveyed reported drops of 18 percent or more, comparing this with the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year.
“The overall trend is clearly down for now, but we’re still going to see some ups and downs,” said McMaken. “Some of the most notable and badly-needed declines in foreclosure activity were seen in Weld County, although Mesa County out west is still dealing with some challenges.”
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 orhpankratz@denverpost.com