A Path of Devastation

Articles: "The Rocky Mountain News is reporting, 'Foreclosure Shock':
'Denver market sees 31.5% increase from first quarter of 2005…
'The 31.5% jump is the largest year-over-year percentage increase for a quarter in almost two years.
'The jump to 4,764 foreclosures, compared with 3,624 in the first three months of 2005, took some experts by surprise. Public trustee offices in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties estimated the number of foreclosures they expect to open this month.
''That is disturbing,' said economist Patty Silverstein of the soaring number of foreclosures.
''We still expected to see increases in 2006, but this is larger than what I would have expected. At this point in our economic recovery, we would have expected to have seen a smaller increase in foreclosures,' said Silverstein, principal of Development Research Partners.
'She said that a main culprit appears to be interest-only and other variable-rate loans that homeowners have taken out in huge numbers in recent years to reduce their monthly mortgage payments…
''What I see is not pretty,' said [Keller Williams Preferred Realty's Sean] Healey, who also heads the Healey Group and hosts a radio talk show called The Real Estate Advocate on KKZN (AM 760).
'He said the number of unsold homes on the market has been growing by an average of 2.5% a week. The increasing supply is putting downward pressure on sale prices, especially for the lower-priced homes most likely to go into foreclosure.
'That's a vicious cycle because it forces more sellers to lower their prices, driving even more houses into foreclosure, Healey said.
''Primarily, I see a huge glut of homes priced under $300,000,' Healey said. 'Und"