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Foreclosures In Colorado Drop To 10-Year Low

DENVER (CBS4)- Foreclosure auction sales last year dropped to the lowest level reported since 2004.

According to a report by the Colorado Division of Housing, new foreclosure auction sales in 2013 were down 41.4 percent.

There were 9,318 foreclosure auction sales or completed foreclosures reported during 2013 compared to 15,903 during 2012.

New foreclosure filings also fell during 2013, dropping 46.3 percent from 28,579 in 2012 to 15,333 in 2013.

"Colorado appears to be reaching the end of this foreclosure cycle," said Ryan McMaken, economist for the Colorado Division of Housing. "Foreclosure activity is now well below below the crisis levels of 2007 and 2009."

All of the state's twelve metropolitan counties reported year-over-year declines in the number of foreclosure auction sales from 2012 to 2013. Auction sales dropped the most in Douglas and Denver counties where they fell 50.2 percent and 49.8 percent, respectively.

Foreclosure filings fell across all regions of the state in 2013, with only some small counties on the eastern plains showing some moderate increases for the year.

Several mountain counties were found among the state's counties with the highest foreclosure rates for the fourth quarter, including Archuleta, Park, and Gunnison counties. Boulder, meanwhile, reported only 30 completed foreclosures for the quarter, for a foreclosure rate of only one foreclosure for every 4,109 households.

"The total number of active mortgage loans in the state has declined in recent years, employment is stable, and home sales activity is up in much of Colorado," McMaken said. "All of those factors helped to push foreclosures down statewide in 2013."

Foreclosure sales are opened foreclosures that have proceeded through the full foreclosure process to final sale at public auction. Filings denote the beginning of the foreclosure process, and once a foreclosure is filed, the borrower has at least 110-120 days to work with the lender to avoid a completed foreclosure. It is during this period that borrowers work with lenders and housing counselors to work out loan modifications, short sales, or other ways of withdrawing the foreclosure.

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