The Denver Post has the latest on foreclosures in Colorado. "Colorado earned a distinction in March it would rather avoid, the highest ratio of foreclosures in the country. One out of every 339 homes in the state was in some stage of foreclosure during March. 'We look at foreclosures as a lagging indicator. It usually says something else bad has happened,' said Rick Sharga, at RealtyTrac."

"Home construction has outrun population growth in some counties, keeping a cap on price gains. Borrowers here also lead the nation in their reliance on adjustable-rate and interest-only mortgages. 'We made it easy for people to buy houses and difficult for them to hold onto them,' said Tom Clark."

"One out of 128 homes in Adams County is in foreclosure, nearly nine times the national ratio. In Arapahoe County, one out of every 161 homes is in foreclosure, seven times the national ratio. Other counties with heavy foreclosures are Denver, Weld, Larimer, Elbert and El Paso."

"Foreclosures, like a funnel cloud, tend to create their own downward spiral once they get started, said Lori Strange, at the Adams County Housing Authority in Commerce City. Lenders who suffer a large number of foreclosures try to recover whatever they can, often underpricing the market, she said. That further depresses resale prices, making it harder for sellers needing to get out to pay off their mortgages."

"That triggers more foreclosures, more pressure on lenders to dump properties and more downward pressure on prices."

"Peter Crosswith the Arapahoe County Housing Authority, points a finger at mortgage brokers, who are unlicensed in Colorado. 'People are not getting the best information and the best deal for their families,' he said. Cross said he recently counseled a couple who refinanced out of a reasonable fixed-rate traditional mortgage and into a one-year adjustable rate mortgage that they couldn't keep up with."

"Borrowers who bet on interest rates staying low on the advice of their mortgage brokers are paying the price for that decision, Cross said."

From My San Antonio. "Local mortgage brokers have a warning for people already struggling to make their adjustable-rate mortgage payments: Get out of them now. 'It's going to double the payment,' said Lance Bryce, branch manager with Countrywide in San Antonio. 'They could literally see their mortgage double this year.' And that's just the first adjustment."

"'They're going to be losing their homes,' said (mortgage broker) Scott Thomas in San Antonio. 'I think a lot of these people were so happy to get into a mortgage that they have no idea what kind of repercussions this will have.'"

"The adjustable-rate mortgage has been growing in popularity across Texas, where 11.3 percent of home buyers chose an ARM last year. ARMs have been especially popular in Austin, where home prices are the highest in the state and 22 percent of buyers in 2005 chose an ARM. 'It's tied directly to housing prices,' said Bob Visini, of marketing for LoanPerformance. 'The higher the housing price, the higher the incidence of these types of loans.'"