Denver area drops off national top 10 list for foreclosures

By John Rebchook

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

The Denver area finally is off a top 10 list it never wanted to be on.

The metro area ranked No. 12 out of the top 100 markets for its foreclosure rate in the third quarter, according to a report released on Wednesday by California-based RealtyTrac.

For much of last year, Denver was No. 1 on RealtyTrac's foreclosure rate list.

The Denver area had 13,179 filings, or one filing for every 77 households, in the third quarter. That was a 28.3 percent jump from the third quarter of 2006. And it was the smallest year-over-year increase of any of the other top dozen markets. Denver also showed a 3.6 percent increase from the second quarter, the only city with a single-digit increase. The next lowest percentage gain from the second quarter was Akron, Ohio, at 11.4 percent. The highest quarter-to-quarter increase was Detroit, at 91.7 percent.

Stockton, Calif., which was No. 1, showed 7,116 foreclosure filings, a 465.3 percent jump from a year ago and a 31.6 percent increase from the second quarter.

Denver has been struggling with its foreclosure crisis longer than many other metro areas.

With the collapse of the subprime markets and overbuilding, formerly hot markets in other parts of the nation now are facing rising foreclosures.

In the past, if homeowners in places like California were unable to make mortgage payments because of loss of a job, a divorce or other expenses, they were able to sell their homes for a profit, avoiding foreclosure. Now, housing prices across the country are collapsing at an unprecedented rate.

"It looks like places like California are finally surpassing the Denver area in foreclosure rates," said Ryan W. McMaken, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing.

A year ago, McMaken said, Colorado was trying to get some national attention as an example of what the rest of the nation could be facing.

"We were more or less ignored by many large national organizations," McMaken said. "Now that the problem has become apparent in much larger markets like Southern California, the foreclosure issue is now recognized as a national issue - which is a good thing."

He expects that statewide, the record number of foreclosures experienced last week will jump about another 30 percent this year.

Top foreclosure markets in third quarter

Metro area Filings Percent change Percent change Q3 2007 from Q2 2007 from Q3 2006

1. Stockton, Calif. 7,116 31.6 percent 465.3 percent

2. Detroit 25,708 91.7 percent 93.4 percent

4. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 16,595 89.8 percent 127.4 percent

5. Las Vegas 14,948 28.7 percent 200.3 percent

6. Sacramento, Calif. 15,479 34.4 percent 408.0 percent

8. Miami 15,484 42.7 percent 82.0 percent

9. Bakersfield, Calif. 3,947 73.4 percent 361.4 percent

10. Oakland, Calif. 13,245 71.0 percent 268.8 percent

11. Akron, Ohio 3,992 11.4 percent 128.0 percent

12. Denver-Aurora 13,179 3.6 percent 28.3 percent