The number of completed foreclosures in Massachusetts jumped almost 32 percent in 2010 to 12,233, up from 9,269 in 2009 but did not surpass the record 12,430 foreclosures recorded in 2008, according to the latest report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

The number of foreclosure petitions, meanwhile, declined 14.3 percent to 23,933 last year from 27,928 in 2009.

"It’s a big concern that more homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure in 2010 than in the prior year. One bright spot is that fewer people entered the foreclosure process compared to a year ago. This is despite a slumping economy and high unemployment," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. "These statistics for petitions to foreclose are skewed by lenders who slowed their foreclosure processing in the last four months of the year. It’s important to remain cautious heading into 2011, and not assume we are out of the woods yet."

Foreclosure petitions – the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts – dropped dramatically in December. A total of 733 starts were recorded, a 64.4 percent drop from 2,060 in December 2009. Petitions also dropped from November 2010, when there were 1,109 starts recorded. The number of foreclosure petitions exceeded 2,000 for eight months in 2010, falling below that level for the past three consecutive months.

In December, there were 481 foreclosure deeds, a near 44 percent drop from 857 deeds recorded in December 2009. Foreclosure deeds represent completed foreclosures. Deeds bumped up in December from a month earlier; there were 418 recorded in November. Foreclosure deeds reached its highest point earlier in the year, peaking at 1,391 in March.

Both foreclosure petitions and deeds dropped in the fourth quarter. A total of 2,969 foreclosure petitions were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2010, down almost 53 percent from the 6,293 petitions during the same period in 2009. Foreclosure deeds dropped to 1,456 in the fourth quarter, a 41.1 percent decline from 2,473 deeds in the fourth quarter of 2009. The fourth quarter marked the slowest activity for both petitions and deeds this year.

Year-to date petitions were down in every county except Nantucket County. A total of 88 foreclosure petitions were recorded in 2010, up almost 9 percent from 81 in 2009. On the contrary, deeds also increased in every county in 2010, except both Nantucket and Dukes Counties. There were 12 completed foreclosures in Nantucket County in all of 2010, down from 25 in 2009. Dukes County saw no change in its foreclosure deeds in 2010 – there were 38 completed foreclosures in both 2009 and 2010.

The Warren Group also tracked a large increase in auction announcements in 2010. A total of 29,227 auction announcements were tracked in 2010, a 50.6 percent increase from 19,441 in 2009. Auction announcements in December totaled 1,076, a 50 percent drop from 2,152 in November and also declined 44.3 percent from 1,931 during the same month in 2009.