Colorado’s reign as the nation’s foreclosure leader may be nearing an end – but not because the foreclosure rate here is declining.
Rather, foreclosure activity is picking up strongly in many other areas of the country. Nevada, Michigan and Georgia all reported higher rates of foreclosure filings per household than Colorado in January, according to a report Monday from RealtyTrac, a provider of foreclosure data based in Irvine, Calif.
Colorado led the nation for nine out of 12 months last year on that measure, according to RealtyTrac.
The state reported one foreclosure filing for every 377 households in January, equivalent to December’s rate.
Michigan’s monthly foreclosure filings jumped nearly 70 percent in January compared to December, while foreclosure filings rose 29 percent in Georgia. Filings were up 8 percent in Nevada and 19 percent nationally from December to January.
Among metro areas, Detroit took the lead as the country’s foreclosure capital in January, bumping Greeley, which held the top spot among metro areas for the previous five months.
Wayne County, home to Detroit, reported one foreclosure filing for every 124 households in January, compared to one filing for every 173 households in Weld County.
A glut of new construction appears to have depressed home prices in Greeley and surrounding Weld County, leaving some homebuyers unable to sell the properties for what they owe.
Given layoffs and restructuring in the auto industry, Detroit’s weak showing came as no surprise.
“They have negative employment growth and negative population growth,” said Lou Barnes, a mortgage banker with Boulder West Financial Services in Boulder.
Michigan, Ohio and Indiana have suffered from weak job growth and weak rates of home-price appreciation, traditional triggers of foreclosure. If those states were cold in terms of job growth and home price gains, states like Arizona and Nevada ran hot, with double-digit rates of appreciation that couldn’t be supported by income gains.
“Nevada and Arizona have been on everybody’s watch list for trouble,” said Barnes.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
