BY DAVID YOUNG
DavidYoung@ coloradoan.com
Foreclosure activity across Colorado has dropped for the first time since 2003, and Larimer County is on par with the rest of the state thanks to programs like the state’s foreclosure hotline, according to experts.
According to the Colorado Division of Housing fourth-quarter 2008 foreclosure report released Monday, completed foreclosures for Colorado are down 16 percent since 2007. In line with the statewide trend, Larimer County’s foreclosure sales declined 21 percent from 2007 to 2008.That is on par with the rest of the state, according to Ryan McMaken, community relations director with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Colorado Division of Housing.
"Larimer’s kind of traditionally been toward the middle of the pack," McMaken said. "Larimer seems to be holding its own; what we want to look at more often is what direction things are going."
Larimer County’s number of occupied households per completed foreclosure is 141.1, compared with Weld County, which is 55.
While the number of foreclosed homes that went through the 120-day foreclosure process and were sold declined, the number of foreclosure filings in Larimer County increased by 4 percent.
The discrepancy between the two numbers means that programs such as the state’s foreclosure hotline are making an impact on the actual number of homes that reach the sale point, McMaken said.
"It means something is happening between filing and final sale," he said.
In 2008, Larimer County witnessed 1,644 foreclosure filings, whereas in 2007, there were 1,588.
A closer look at the numbers reveals that Larimer County’s fourth-quarter foreclosure filings dropped significantly by 22 percent. In the fourth quarter of 2008, there were 378 foreclosures filed in Larimer County versus 482 in 2007.
The fourth quarter also revealed a decrease for foreclosed home sales at auction by 28 percent from 2007 to 2008.
Heather Green, director of counseling with consumer credit counseling service in Northern Colorado and southeast Wyoming, has seen firsthand how people seeking assistance can avoid foreclosure.
"I think that is due largely to the foreclosure hotline," she said. "It doesn’t surprise me that these numbers are going down."
Green said 41 percent of the individuals who received default counseling within the past year were current on their loans, while the other 59 percent were in some kind of default.
Of those in default, 41 percent were because of job loss or reduced income.
Billie Jo Downing, real estate broker with ReMax and chairwoman of the Larimer County Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, said there are a variety of factors that have led to the decrease in foreclosure sales.
From better cooperation by loan officers to work with residents on fixing their loans to the state hotline, Downing said she has tried to approach the situation from a grass-roots level, as well as the state level.
The task force’s next project is to distribute packets to employers that are expecting layoffs since job loss is a leading reason people go into foreclosure.
What the report means for foreclosures in 2009 is unclear considering the state of the economy.
"(I’m) reluctant to make any real predictions because the economy is so volatile," McMaken said. "Really, we are just sitting with our fingers crossed that Colorado is spared with the layoffs."