Second-quarter foreclosure filings fall in Colorado, the Springs and most metro areas

Colorado’s foreclosure woes have improved somewhat so far this year, according to a report Thursday by the Colorado Division of Housing.

New foreclosure filings in Colorado and nearly all of the state’s metropolitan areas — including Colorado Springs and El Paso County — fell in the second quarter when compared with the same period last year. Likewise, filings dropped during the first half of 2010 in the state and most metro areas, including the Springs.

The drop in filings —  the start of the legal process that can lead to the loss of a home — is an encouraging sign, even as the job scene remains stagnant, state officials say.

Possible reasons for the slowdown in filings: Lenders who are being more flexible as they try to resolve problems with homeowners, and consumers who are skipping discretionary spending in order to make mortgage payments, said Housing Division Director Pat Coyle.

According to the report:

• Statewide, foreclosure filings totaled 10,233 in the second quarter, down 15.7 percent from the same period last year. For the first half of the year, filings totaled 21,365, a 5.6 percent decline. Completed foreclosures — troubled properties that were sold to lenders or investors — totaled 5,885 in the second quarter, a 17.7 percent increase from a year ago. Completed foreclosures totaled 12,569 in the first half of the year, a 34.4 percent jump from the same period last year. Housing Division officials say the rise in completed foreclosures is misleading because current figures are being compared against early last year, when lenders were trying to hold down foreclosure sales.

• In El Paso County, second quarter filings numbered 1,209, down 12.8 percent from a year earlier, while first-half filings reached 2,420, down 9.7 percent. Examples of how other counties fared in the second quarter: Denver filings fell 30.4 percent, Pueblo dropped 20 percent and Douglas saw an 18.6 percent decline. Mesa County, home to Grand Junction, had the only second quarter increase in filings among metro areas — 40.2 percent.

• El Paso County’s competed foreclosures totaled 634 in the second quarter, a 1.9 percent increase over the same time last year. Completed foreclosures of 1,370 rose 19.8 percent in the first half of the year. Second quarter completed foreclosures fell 18 percent in Pueblo  and 9.5 percent in Denver; they rose 36.1 percent in Jefferson and 32.5 percent in Boulder.

­• Teller County — which includes Woodland Park — foreclosure filings totaled 87 in the second quarter, up 14.5 percent from the same time last year. For the first half of the year, Teller County filings totaled 168, up 7 percent from the same period last year. Teller’s completed foreclosures totaled 34 in the second quarter, a 27.7 percent decline; first-half sales totaled 78, down 10.3 percent.

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