The Foreclosure Report

'We're Building Too Many Houses' In Colorado

The Rocky Mountain News has this update on Colorado. "Almost 10,500 homes in the metro area ended up in foreclosure in the first nine months of the year, about 15 percent more than during the same period last year. This looks to be the second-worst year on record for foreclosures, as the market is on track for about 14,000 homes to enter foreclosure this year."

"'We're building too many houses. It's not matching up to our population growth,' Tucker Hart Adams said. 'Some people say we're not in as bad shape as other places in the country because we have not had the appreciation they have had. That is absolute nonsense. Foreclosures are a lagging indicator, which means when a whole lot of other things are getting better, we're still going to have foreclosures.'"

"An estimated 10,496 foreclosures will be opened in the first nine months of the year in the seven-county area. That compares with 9,107 foreclosures opened in the first nine months of 2004. The good news is that the percentage increase in foreclosures has been cut in half from 2004. Last year, foreclosures rose 29 percent from 2003."

"'It has slowed, but it is still atrocious,' said Peter Lansing, head of one of the largest locally based mortgage lenders."

"Lansing said one of the big culprits is that buyers with bad credit are able to get loans to buy homes. And many people are buying homes with no down payments, making it easier to walk away if they have trouble making their mortgage payment, he said."

"'I'm not surprised by the high number of foreclosures when you considered the high level of credit- card debt people are carrying these days,' Lansing said. 'To me, the rising foreclosures (are) much more a reflection of easy credit than it is a reflection of our economic times.'"

posted by Ben Jones @ 7:56 AM