The Foreclosure Report

Denver Condos Sold For Under $20,000

The Rocky Mountain News reports from Colorado. "Real estate foreclosures in the Denver area rocketed by 32.3 percent in the first nine months of the year, as condo overbuilding, risky loans and inflated appraisals drove the number of loan defaults to near record territory."

"Through September, 14,205 foreclosures had been filed in the metro area, compared to 10,735 in the first three quarters of 2005. The record for foreclosures was set in 1988, when 17,122 were filed from Boulder to Douglas counties."

"'It shouldn't be too hard to surpass our record,' economist Tucker Hart Adams said Tuesday. Adams said many of the foreclosures seem to be in the suburban condo market."

"In one troubled condo project in southeast Denver, some one-bedroom units are being sold in foreclosure for as little as $18,000 to $20,000, while they sold for $110,000 to $120,000 at their peak, said broker Rob Murphy."

"Many owners walked away from their mortgages after being slapped with huge assessments. 'The problem is it has a ripple effect,' Murphy said 'Appraisers are already under fire because a few bad apples were overinflating them. Now, appraisers can't justify units down the street selling for $80,000 to $90,000, when they use this for a comparable.'"

"Mary Wenke, public trustee for Arapahoe County, said that her office is dealing with so many foreclosures that she recently automated the process."

posted by Ben Jones @ 1:17 PM