Foreclosures in Colorado fell sharply during the third quarter, raising hopes that the state’s foreclosure wave crested last year.
Colorado public trustees reported 7,261 foreclosure filings and 6,454 homes sold in foreclosure auctions during the July-to-September period, according to a report released today by the Colorado Division of Housing.
That represents a 24 percent decrease in filings and a 9 percent drop in foreclosure sales from the third quarter of 2007.
For the first nine months of this year, foreclosure filings in the state are down 3 percent while sales are 14 percent lower.
If foreclosures continue to drop in the fourth quarter as expected, then Colorado will end the year with fewer foreclosures in 2008 than 2007.
The report shows that third-quarter foreclosure sales slowed significantly in Adams County, down 19 percent; Denver County, down 25 percent; and Weld County, down 20 percent.
They have increased most sharply in El Paso County, up 26 percent; Broomfield, up 27 percent; and Larimer, up 13 percent.
Officials attributed the decline to a greater effort by banks and lenders to work with troubled borrowers.
The expectation is that foreclosures will continue to fall next year, but a sharp rise in job losses could cause that trend to reverse, officials cautioned.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com
