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Auctions rose 2.8 percent; foreclosure deeds increase 0.2 percent

BOSTON, January 31, 2017 – Foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts fell by 29.9 percent in December compared with December 2015, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Lenders in Massachusetts filed 866 petitions to foreclose in December, compared with 1,236 filed in December of last year. There have been 12,276 petitions filed year to date in the Bay State, a 3.0 percent increase from last year’s mark through December with 11,916. Petitions mark the first step in the foreclosure process, when lenders file notice of their intention to foreclose with the Commonwealth’s Land Court.

“Foreclosure starts are finally on the decline,” said Timothy Warren., CEO of The Warren Group. “After more than two years of steady and alarming increases, we now see double-digit percentage decreases in each of the past four months.”

There were 582 auction notices filed in December, a 2.8 percent increase from the 566 filed in December 2015. There have been 8,582 auctions scheduled in Massachusetts in 2016, a 24.5 percent increase from the same time in 2015 when there were 6,894. An auction notice is a legal advertisement that the lender has scheduled an auction and publicly announced the time, date and address in local newspapers.

There were 471 foreclosure deeds filed in December, a 0.2 percent increase from the 470 deeds filed at the same time last year. There have been a total of 6,169 deeds recorded in Massachusetts year to date, a 40.2 percent increase from the 4,400 filed through December 2015. Deeds represent completed foreclosures, when lenders record a new deed at the Registry of Deeds indicating there has been a change in the ownership of the foreclosed property.

Customers use The Warren Group to identify new business opportunities through access to comprehensive real estate and mortgage data, analytics, industry news coverage, networking, and education opportunities. Based in Boston, the company was established in 1872 and is now in its fourth generation of family ownership and management. It is publisher of Banker & Tradesman, The Commercial Record and Registry Review and architect behind some of the leading events and conferences for banking, legal, and real estate professionals in all of New England. For more information visit www.thewarrengroup.com.