Report shows jump in '08 foreclosure filings

El Paso County had one of the state's biggest increases in foreclosure filings in the first quarter of 2008 when compared with the same period last year, according to a report released today by the Colorado Division of Housing.

Foreclosure filings totaled 1,216 in El Paso County during the first quarter, a nearly 47 percent jump over the first quarter of 2007. Douglas County, north of El Paso County, saw a 78 percent increase in its first quarter filings.

Statewide, first-quarter foreclosure filings rose 23.2 percent when compared with the same period a year ago, according to the Division of Housing.

El Paso County had one foreclosure for every 177 households during the first quarter, according to the report. That was a better rate than the rest of the state, which had one foreclosure for every 159 households.

Among Front Range counties that fared better than El Paso County, Boulder County had one foreclosure for every 407 households and Jefferson County had one for every 206 households.

Front Range areas that fared worse than El Paso County included Denver County, which had one foreclosure for every 123 households in the first quarter, and Adams County, which had one per 86 households.

According to the study, statewide foreclosure filings in 2008 are projected to be 15 percent higher than last year - a slower rate of increase than the past two years, when filings increased 30 percent in 2006 and 40 percent in 2007.

"We're glad to see a break in the rate of increase in new foreclosures opened," said Kathi Williams, director of the Colorado Division of Housing and co-Chair of the Colorado Foreclosure Prevention Task Force.

"What we'd really like to see is a drop in the total number of new foreclosures this year," Williams said. "However, adjustable-rate mortgages will continue to reset through 2009, and the cost of living looks like it will continue to increase this year. That will likely mean we won't see any drop in foreclosure numbers this year."