County breaks foreclosure record

 El Paso County has broken its foreclosure record.

Public Trustee Tom Mowle said this morning that 4,603 foreclosure starts have been reported, surpassing last year’s total of 4,602 - and there are still two months left in the year. 

“Last year, you may recall, broke the record of 3,556 set in 2007,” he said. “Each of the last three years has seen more foreclosure starts than the previous peak, 3,476 in 1988.”

Even though the most recent monthly reports shows that foreclosure starts are leveling off, Mowle said he’s still concerned.

“The number remains intolerably high,” he said. ”Even if we had only 300 foreclosures started each month, we would still be exceeding that 1989 peak. We have not had a single monthly total that low in over a year.”

Mowle expects this year’s total to surpass 5,200.

He blamed the poor economy for the numbers and surmised that only the creation of more high-paying, primary jobs would reverse the trend.

“Far too many people’s lives and dreams have already been disrupted by the loss of their homes,” he said.