Like a clog finally releasing in a stuck pipe, foreclosure sales surged in Colorado’s largest counties in November.
Foreclosure sales or completed foreclosures surged 37.5 percent from October to November in the state’s 12 metro counties, the Colorado Division of Housing reported Tuesday.
That reversed the normal pattern the past three years of foreclosure sales falling between October and November, said division spokesman Ryan McMaken.
One theory is that lenders have geared up again after pulling back in the fall of 2010 on criticisms that they were improperly processing foreclosures.
That slowdown showed signs of reversing in August and could explain November’s numbers, McMaken said.
Another explanation is that November had five Wednesdays, the day of the week when foreclosure auctions take place, he said.
The news in Tuesday’s report isn’t all bad. Clearing foreclosures out of the system is a necessary step to restoring the market’s health. And the pressure on the other end of the pipe, foreclosure starts, is decreasing.
Fewer borrowers are getting behind on their mortgages, resulting in fewer new filings, said Lou Barnes, a Boulder mortgage banker.
There were 2,296 new foreclosure filings in November in the state’s 12 metro counties, down 21.7 percent from 2,932 in November 2010 and 2.3 percent from October.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or
