For the second consecutive month, both year-over-year foreclosure petitions and deeds decreased by double-digit percentages in Massachusetts, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Foreclosure activity in November reached its lowest levels so far in 2010.

In November, lenders filed 1,109 petitions to foreclose – which mark the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts – a nearly 43 percent drop from 1,937 a year earlier. Foreclosure petitions in November also dropped by 1.6 percent from 1,127 in October. 

November marks the third month this year that foreclosure petitions have stayed below 2,000. This is the fewest number of petitions filed so far this year. Foreclosure starts haven’t been this low since August 2008, when there were 943 petitions filed. A total of 23,200 foreclosure petitions have been filed so far this year statewide, down 10.3 percent from 25,868 during the same period in 2009.

"I predicted last month that Massachusetts was likely to see a continuing decrease in foreclose starts due to delays caused by robo-signing and banks temporarily suspending foreclosure activity," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. "With federal and state governments taking an even closer look at how banks are going about the foreclosure process, I suspect that petitions to foreclose will remain at low levels."

In November, 416 foreclosure deeds were recorded, down more than 40 percent from 702 in November 2009. Foreclosure deeds also dropped from a month ago, when there were 557 completed foreclosures. However, year-to-date foreclosure deeds are up. A total of 11,750 foreclosure deeds have been completed this year, up 40 percent from 8,412 deeds recorded during the same period last year.

The last time foreclosure deeds fell lower than the number seen in November was in February 2007, when there were 350 completed foreclosures.

In November, the number of auction announcements tracked by The Warren Group fell to 2,077, a near 7 percent drop from 2,226 in November 2009. Auctions in November also declined from the previous month, when there were 3,292 auction announcements. October’s auction numbers were the highest recorded since The Warren Group began tracking foreclosure data in 2006.

Year-to-date auction announcements are up more than 60 percent. So far this year, 28,126 auctions have been announced, up from 17,510 during the same period last year.