Local foreclosure activity slowed again last month, a report from the El Paso County Public Trustee’s Office showed.

The number of properties in El Paso County that were served with foreclosure notices totaled 99 in August. That was down almost 11 percent from the same month last year and the fewest number of foreclosure starts for any month since 94 in February of this year.

Through the first eight months of the year, foreclosure filings totaled 958, or a nearly one-fourth decline from the same period in 2014.

Like many areas, Colorado Springs was hit with rising numbers of foreclosures during the recession; foreclosure starts in El Paso County totaled an annual record of 5,288 in 2009.

An upturn in the single-family housing market – rising property values and an increased demand for homes – helped the Springs pull out of its nosedive and has led to a reduction in foreclosure activity each year since 2009.

Foreclosure filings now are on pace for their lowest annual total in 14 years.

Meanwhile, the Public Trustee’s Office has released 24,431 deeds so far in 2015, a nearly 36 percent increase from the same period last year.

Releases are a positive sign for the housing market; a release is recorded when a property is sold or its mortgage is paid off or refinanced.

–

Contact Rich Laden: 636-0228

Twitter: @richladen

Facebook: Rich Laden