Massachusetts foreclosures dropped dramatically in April from a year ago and were also lower than March, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
"The good news is that the number of foreclosure deeds recorded in April was the lowest for a single month in over a year, and lenders have been starting far fewer foreclosure proceedings this year compared to last year," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. "But I’m a little cautious about being overly optimistic with this latest report because the employment picture hasn’t changed much and mortgage loan delinquencies have been trending up."
A total of 755 foreclosure deeds were recorded statewide in April, a 43.8 percent drop from 1,344 in April 2008 — a period that had the second highest number of foreclosure deeds since The Warren Group started tracking foreclosure activity in 2005. April foreclosure deeds were also down 20.8 percent from 953 in March.
April was the first time that foreclosure deeds fell below 800 in six months, according to WarrenGroupForeclosures.com. It also marked the steepest year-over-year decline in monthly foreclosure deeds. Year-to-date, the number of foreclosure deeds fell 15.9 percent to 3,510 from 4,171 last year. The number of foreclosure deeds recorded in the first four months of 2009 climbed only in Berkshire, Dukes, Nantucket and Norfolk counties.
Petitions to foreclose, the first step in the foreclosure process, plunged 39.5 percent to 2,013 from 3,328 in April 2008. The number of foreclosure petitions also fell 15.5 percent from 2,381 in March, the first drop in month-to-month petitions in five months. Foreclosure petitions hit a peak last April, a month before a state law took effect that requires lenders to give delinquent borrowers 90-days to catch up with missed mortgage payments. So far this year, lenders have filed 8,649 foreclosure petitions statewide, 30 percent fewer than 12,336 a year earlier.
Auction announcements continued to decline year-over-year. The Warren Group tracked 1,004 auction announcements in April, a 45.7 percent decrease from 1,850 in April 2008 and 8.1 percent below March when there were 1,093 auction announcements. Auction announcements have fallen every month this year from their levels a year earlier.
