From the Vail Daily
Improvements in the local real
estate market reflect state trends.
The Colorado Division of Housing
said foreclosures dove 50 percent in May, while home loan payoffs surged.
At the same time, the Vail Board of
Realtors May monthly indicators report shows a tightening local market. The
number of new listings coming to market is down 13 percent from last year, and
active inventory is down over 34 percent from last year. “While this report
provides great insight into Eagle County as a whole, each neighborhood has its
own unique characteristics and trends which are best navigated through the use
of a local Realtor,” said Julie Retzlaff who chairs the Vail Board of Realtors.
The time that a local property spent on the market dropped 3 percent to 159
days, down from 185 days in 2011, the Vail Board of Realtors May report said. Retzlaff
said concerns about interest rates are popping up again, after Fed chief Ben
Bernanke told Congress the Federal Reserve Bank is considering tapering the $85
billion it’s spending each month to buy mortgage-backed securities and other
debt.
Payoffs are up
The number of home loans paid off in
Colorado was up 31.4 percent from the first quarter of 2012 to the first
quarter of 2013, the Colorado Division of Housing reported. Public trustees in
Colorado released a total of 98,321 deeds of trust during the first quarter of
2013, the highest quarterly total recorded in any quarter since the Division
began collecting quarterly totals in 2008. That’s up from 74,809 deeds released
during the first quarter of last year. Eagle County saw the smallest increase
of the 21 Colorado counties surveyed at 3.7 percent. Jefferson County showed
the next smallest increase at 12.5 percent. A release of a deed of trust occurs
when a real estate loan is paid off, whether it be through refinance, sale of
property or because the owner has made the final payment on the loan, McMaken
said. Increases in release activity occur as refinance and home-sale activity
increases, and rising release totals typically indicate increases in the demand
for home loans and real estate. “From early 2011 to late 2012, the average
30-year fixed mortgage rate fell for seven quarters in a row,” McMaken said.
“We’re not surprised to see refinancing and purchase activity increase sharply
as a result.”
Foreclosures are down
In Colorado’s metro counties,
foreclosure filings were down 50.5 percent during May 2013, falling to the
lowest level recorded during May in any year since the Division of Housing
began collecting monthly totals in 2007. Foreclosure auction sales in metro
areas were down 25.4 percent in May this year compared to May of last year,
falling from 965 to 720. During the same period, foreclosure filings dropped
from 2,249 to 1,113. For the first five months of the year combined, from
January through May, foreclosure filings were down 43.4 percent in 2013 when
compared to the same period last year. Foreclosure auction sales were down 29.4
percent across the same period. “And a downward trend is likely to continue as
long as employment is stable and we continue to see low mortgage rates,” said
Ryan McMaken, an economist for the Colorado Division of Housing. Foreclosure
filings are the initial filing that begins the foreclosure process, and
foreclosure auction sales totals are the total number of foreclosures that have
been sold at auction, ending the foreclosure process.
