U.S. foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — saw an uptick in March, but the overall activity is at its lowest in eight years, according to a RealtyTrac report released Thursday.
The real estate research firm for 122,060 U.S. properties last month, representing a 20 percent gain from February and a 4 percent increase from March 2014. It was the first month since September 2010 when foreclosure activity had a year-over-year increase, according to the report.
A nearly 50 percent surge in bank repossessions — to 36,152 properties — triggered the March jump, officials said, noting that the 313,487 foreclosure filings in the first quarter were the lowest quarterly filings in eight years.
Colorado’s foreclosure activity decreased in the first quarter by 5.64 percent to 4,012 properties with foreclosure filings. That rate places Colorado 22nd among other states, RealtyTrac said.
“The 17-month high in bank repossessions in March corresponds to a 17-month high in scheduled foreclosures auctions in October,” Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president, said in a news announcement. “The March increase is continued cleanup of distress still lingering from the previous housing crisis; not the beginning of a new crisis by any means.
“Some of the most stubborn foreclosure cases are finally being flushed out of the foreclosure pipeline, and we would expect to see more noise in the numbers over the next few months as national foreclosure activity makes its way back to more stable patterns by the end of this year.”
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com
