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June2014ChartBOSTON, July 23, 2014 – Foreclosure petitions rose in June compared with one year ago, but remain well below the levels posted during the foreclosure crisis, according to the latest report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

A total of 488 petitions were recorded in June compared with 245 starts in June 2013. The number of petitions in June is 99.2 percent higher than in June of last year, but it is 14.8 percent lower than May of this year and 34.1 percent lower than April. In June 2009 during the foreclosure crisis, there were 2,835 petitions filed.

From January through June, 3,264 petitions to foreclose were filed statewide, up 12.8 percent from 2,893 during the same period in 2013. Foreclosure petitions mark the first step in the foreclosure process.

“The clean-up continues as lenders push through the backlog of delinquent mortgages,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “The number of petitions filed last year at this time was artificially low due to regulatory uncertainty regarding the proper procedures for taking foreclosure action.”

Foreclosure deeds, which represent completed foreclosures, decreased more than 18 percent to 268 in June, down from 329 deeds in June 2013. A total of 1,375 foreclosure deeds have been recorded in the first six months of the year, down 12.8 percent from the 1,578 deeds filed a year earlier.

Second quarter foreclosure activity also increased statewide. In the second quarter this year, foreclosure starts rose 119 percent to 1,801 from 820 during the second quarter last year. Completed foreclosures in the second quarter decreased across the Bay State. Deeds dropped 27 percent to 596 from 815 during the same period last year.

The number of advertised auction notices also dropped during the month of June. There were 495 auction announcements in June, an 18.6 percent drop from 608 a year ago. Year-to-date auction notices decreased 15.3 percent to 2,175 compared with 2,568 last year.