Foreclosure activity increased in Mass. in December

THE WARREN GROUP SAID December foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts increased 97 percent compared with the year-earlier period. Month over month, foreclosure petition activity in the Bay State fell in December, posting a 12.7 percent decrease. / COURTESY THE WARREN GROUP
THE WARREN GROUP SAID December foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts increased 97 percent compared with the year-earlier period. Month over month, foreclosure petition activity in the Bay State fell in December, posting a 12.7 percent decrease. / COURTESY THE WARREN GROUP

BOSTON – December foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts increased 97 percent compared with the year-earlier period, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
A total of 561 foreclosure petitions were filed in December, compared with 285 during December 2013. Petitions mark the first step in the foreclosure process.
Month over month, foreclosure petition activity in the Bay State fell in December, posting a 12.7 percent decrease from November.
A total of 7,588 foreclosure starts were filed in 2014, a 45.4 percent increase compared with 5,220 petitions recorded during 2013.

“Throughout the year, we’ve seen a lot of variation month-over-month, with ups and downs in the volume of all three stages in the foreclosure process. This is a reflection of the uneven work flow from prior delays and a backlog in foreclosure paperwork,” Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement.
Year over year, foreclosure deeds increased 38.2 percent in December compared with 233 deeds completed in the same month a year ago, marking the fifth consecutive increase in foreclosure deeds year over year.
However, a total of 3,627 foreclosure deeds were recorded in 2014, a decline of almost 2 percent from the 3,692 deeds recorded during the same period last year.

“Looking back to the years when we were truly in a foreclosure crisis, the increase in year-over-year data does not indicate to me that we are headed for a crisis. However it is something that we will be following closely as we head in 2015,” Warren said.

Bristol County reported 68 foreclosure petitions in December, an increase of 106.6 percent from 33 in December 2013. There also were 78 foreclosure auctions in December, an increase of 66 percent from the prior-year period, and 44 foreclosure deeds, an increase of 22 percent year over year.

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