Foreclosure filings were down 36.8 percent in Colorado metro counties during November, falling to the lowest level recorded in any month since the Colorado Division of Housing began collecting totals in 2007, the agency reported Wednesday.

According to the report, foreclosure filings dropped from 2,296 in November 2011 to 1,450 in November 2012.

For the first eleven months of the year, January through November, foreclosure filings were down 6.5 percent in 2012 when compared to the same period last year.

At the same time, the report said foreclosure auction sales in Colorado's metropolitan counties were down 31.8 percent in November compared to November of last year, falling from 1,290 to 880.

Foreclosure auction sales were down 19.9 percent for the first eleven months of the year, from January through November.

By E. Scott Reckard

December 12, 2012, 10:34 a.m.

Southern California's housing market surged again last month, with the number of homes sold climbing more than 14% from a year earlier to their the highest level for any November in six years.

It was the 11th straight month of year-over-year increases, according to real estate research firm DataQuick. The median home price for the region was $321,000, up from $315,000 the two prior months and a nearly 17% increase over $275,000 in November of 2011.

Helping to boost the median home price, the number of sales rose in the trade-up middle ranges of the market and at the high end, while sales volume fell in less expensive areas.

Investors paying cash for homes remain an unusually large part of the regional housing market, DataQuick said.

More buyers feel confident about their jobs, the economy and housing prices, said John Walsh, president of the San Diego data firm.

“We’re also seeing more non-distressed sales, where people sell at a profit and buy another house, triggering more move-up activity,” Walsh said.

Ventura County's housing picture brightened more last week, with reports of increased sales and prices and fewer foreclosure filings.

October home sales jumped 35 percent from the same time last year and the median price climbed to $360,000, San Diego-based DataQuick reported Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the number of properties with foreclosure filings dropped 39 percent in October from the same time last year, according to Irvine-based RealtyTrac. There were 738 county properties with foreclosure filings in October. Of those, 217 were default notices, 367 were auction sales and 154 were bank repossessions.

 Jerry Sullivan Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Warren Buffett will attach the name of his famed holding company to a newly formed residential real estate chain that will have headquarters in Irvine.

The company is expected to take shape under terms of a deal between HomeServices of America and Brookfield Asset Management in Toronto.

HomeServices is an affiliate of Buffett’s Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway holding company. It has headquarters in Minneapolis, and operates numerous real estate offices under various brands throughout the nation.

Bookfield owns Irvine-based Prudential Real Estate as well as Real Living Real Estate chain, with headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. Prudential and Real Living combined for about $72 billion in sales last year.