BOSTON – While foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process, surged by more than 700 percent in Massachusetts in June, the number of foreclosure deeds, the final step, fell year over year by 45 percent.
The 2,835 foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts last month represented at 710 percent rise from the 350 petitions in June 2008, according to data released this morning by The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate tracker. But foreclosure deeds dropped 45.1 percent, falling year over year from 1,131 to 621 deeds last month.
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In Bristol County, foreclosure deeds dropped in June to 63, down 30 percent from the 90 deeds filed in June 2008. But the number of foreclosure petitions jumped 630.3 percent, rising to 241 from 33 petitions.
“Even though the number of foreclosure deeds has declined from a year ago, they crept up from the prior month and we’re seeing more people in the initial stage of foreclosure,” CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. said in a statement this morning. “That’s troubling.”
Foreclosure petitions statewide hit a 13-month high in June. In May, the number of petitions had increased 497.2 percent from the same year-ago month.
“June’s foreclosure petitions were close to the historical highs we saw in the early part of 2008,” Warren said. “We saw a big drop-off in foreclosure petitions in the middle of last year after the state passed a law requiring lenders intending to start foreclosure proceedings to give defaulting borrowers 90 days to catch up with missed payments. But in the subsequent months, petitions to foreclose mounted.”
Warren added, “There are many incentives for lenders to complete loan modifications to help homeowners who can’t afford their current mortgage payments. But researchers have questioned whether these loan modifications are really sufficient to help homeowners.”
He said that job losses are an ongoing concern and could further affect the foreclosure rates. Warren said, “Many homeowners who lose their jobs won’t be able to make mortgage payments and pay off other bills even with a loan modification.”
The Warren Group Inc. is a provider of New England real estate data and the publisher of Banker & Tradesman and other journals. Additional information is available at TheWarrenGroup.com.
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http://www.foreclosurelistings.com