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Foreclosures Starts, Completions Plummet
From A Year Ago

BOSTON, June 20, 2013 – Bay State foreclosure activity dropped significantly again in May, with starts falling below 250 for the first time since the collapse of the real estate market eight years ago, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

A total of 248 foreclosure petitions were filed statewide in May compared to 1,779 starts filed last year – an 86 percent decrease. The May number is the lowest recorded since The Warren Group starting compiling foreclosure data in 2006. This total is significantly below the previous low of 350 in June 2008 and below the 370 recorded in April of this year. Through May of this year, 2,698 petitions to foreclose have been filed statewide, down 66 percent from 7,877 during the same period in 2012.

“This month’s data further supports our argument that the foreclosure crisis is behind us. The combination of a recovering housing market and banks’ willingness to allow for loan modifications has helped suppress foreclosure levels,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “Legislation passed last year that forces lenders to consider alternatives to foreclosure is also contributing to the decrease as lenders revamp their foreclosure procedures to comply.”

Foreclosure deeds, which represent completed foreclosures, dropped more than 68 percent to 251 in May from 796 in May 2012. A total of 1,246 foreclosure deeds have been recorded in the first five months of the year, down almost 69 percent from 4,011 a year earlier.

The number of advertised auction notices also dropped dramatically in May. There were 447 auction announcements in May, down 69 percent from 1,446 a year ago. Year-to-date auction notices are down about 73 percent – declining to 1,925 from 7,023 last year.