The number of foreclosures initiated in Massachusetts during the month of November fell below 2,000 for the first time since January, according to a new report by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Still, petitions to foreclose, which mark the start of the foreclosure process, remain at a relatively high level and were 45 percent higher than last November.
"While the November data provide some positive news, foreclosures continue to be a problem in the real estate market," said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. "Due to unemployment and other economic factors, homeowners continue to have high rates of delinquency on their mortgages, which eventually leads to the initiation of foreclosure proceedings."
Lenders filed 1,937 petitions to foreclose in November down 15.6 percent from October’s 2,296 foreclosure petitions. But November’s petitions jumped 45.1 percent from the 1,335 petitions filed in November 2008. A total of 25,868 petitions to foreclose were filed from January through November, up 28.2 percent from 20,179 during the same months in 2008.
The number of foreclosure deeds, which represent completed foreclosures, fell 23.1 percent to 701 in November from 912 in October and were also 21.1 percent lower than the 888 foreclosure deeds recorded in November 2008. A total of 8,409 foreclosure deeds were recorded from January through November, down 26.8 percent from 11,494 during the same period last year.
Warren noted that the several factors have led to a decline in completed foreclosures, including trial mortgage loan modifications that lenders have provided to homeowners and a Massachusetts Land Court decision which has forced some lenders to hold back on recording foreclosure deeds or to restart them after proper mortgage assignments have been made.
November auction notices tumbled 22.5 percent to 2,015 from 2,601 in October but jumped 77.7 percent from 1,134 in November 2008. Year-to-date auctions notices slipped 4.3 percent to 17,297 from 18,064.
"The number of auction notices is over 2,000 for the third time this year, another sign that foreclosures remain a challenge," said Warren.
