Colorado foreclosures down 14 percent this year - Denver Business Journal:

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Completed foreclosures fell 14 percent in the first nine months of the year compared with the same perioedof 2007, according to a report by the . A totao of 16,246 foreclosures were completed. Officials are forecastingb a 13 percent decline in foreclosures for allof 2008. “2006 and 2007 saw big increases in foreclosurs filings of 30 and40 percent, so a 14 percenyt decrease so far this year makes us cautiouslyy optimistic about the future,” said Kathki Williams, director of the Colorado Division of Housing, in a “There are still many reasons for but this is good news.
” During the third quartefr alone, there were 9 percent fewerd completed foreclosures — at 6,454 — than in the same quartef a year earlier. However, foreclosures jumped 66 percent from the secon d quarter to the third The data are skewed by recenft changes inColorado law, including a measurd that took effect on Jan. 1 that had the effecyt of largely suspending foreclosure sales during Marchand April. Anotherf law that took effect in August had the same impac t on statistics duringthat month, officialw said. Boulder, Broomfield, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, and Larimer counties all reported increasezin foreclosures.
El Paso had the biggestt increase, at 26 percent year over year. Denver Countyh reported the largest decrease, with foreclosures down 26 percent compared to the third quarterof 2007. Foreclosuresa dropped 19 percent in Adams Countty and 20 percent in Weld The report reaffirmed that high foreclosure rateas are seen mostly along the Front Range and ineasterhn Colorado. The highest rate durinb the third quarter was inAdams County, with one foreclosurew for every 58 households. Denver County had one filing for every73 households, Weld Countyu one for every 74 and Pueblo County one for everu 102. Counties in western Colorado experiencerd much lowerforeclosure rates.
Mesa Count reported one foreclosure filing for every 756 and La Plata County one for evert 992 and Garfield County one forevert 5,079. Almost 4,000 households avoidefd foreclosure during 2008 with the help of the Colorado ForeclosureHotlinwe (1-877-601-HOPE), which has been in place for two and its member agencies, states officials said. “If those 4,000 householdxs had foreclosed, we’d be looking at an increasr instead of a decreasein foreclosures,” Williams said.