The number of foreclosures started by lenders in Massachusetts during the month of January dropped to the lowest level in more than a year, according to a new report by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Lenders filed 1,874 petitions to foreclose – which mark the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts – in January, a 9 percent decrease from 2,060 in December and 4.4 percent drop from a year earlier. Foreclosure petitions exceeded 2,000 for most months in 2009, falling below that number only in January and November.

"Foreclosure activity, as measured by petitions to foreclose, has started to moderate, with the lowest level of petitions since December 2008. The federal loan modification program was slow to make a dent in foreclosure activity but recently lenders have accelerated their efforts," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. 

In January, 1,061 foreclosure deeds were recorded, up from 978 in January 2009 and 857 in December. This was the highest number of foreclosures for the month of January since The Warren Group started tracking statewide foreclosure activity in 2006.

The number of auction announcements tracked by The Warren Group also surged in January. Auction announcements shot up 81.5 percent to 2,385 from 1,314 in January 2009 and were also 23 percent higher than the 1,931 auction announcements tracked in December.