Foreclosures starts, completions fall in Providence metro in May

BOTH FORECLOSURE STARTS and the number of completed foreclosures fell in the Providence-Fall River-New Bedford metropolitan area in May. / COURTESY REALTYTRAC
BOTH FORECLOSURE STARTS and the number of completed foreclosures fell in the Providence-Fall River-New Bedford metropolitan area in May. / COURTESY REALTYTRAC

PROVIDENCE – Foreclosure starts in the Providence metro area fell 18 percent in May compared with the same period last year and completed foreclosures dropped 30 percent, according to RealtyTrac.
Lenders initiated foreclosure proceedings against 237 properties in the area – which includes Providence, Fall River and New Bedford – compared with 290 properties in May 2012, according to the California-based real estate data firm.
The declines were the result of a dramatic 78 percent drop in Bristol County, Mass. foreclosure starts. Lenders only began 21 Bristol County foreclosures last month compared with 97 last May. The sharp slowdown in foreclosure activity in Bristol County reflected the trend in Massachusetts as a whole.
For the second consecutive month, Rhode Island saw foreclosure starts climb year over year, in this case by 12 percent. There were 216 Rhode Island properties entering the foreclosure process in May compared with 193 last May.
Completed foreclosures declined in both Rhode Island and Bristol County. There were 146 completed foreclosures in the metro area in May, down from 211 in May 2012.
In Rhode Island the 113 finished foreclosures last month dropped 28 percent the from the 157 repossessions last May.
In Bristol County, Mass., lenders took back 33 homes last month, 39 percent fewer than the 54 repossessions in May 2012.

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