FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Editorial Contacts:
Katie Curnutte
The Warren Group
(617) 896-5370
Foreclosure Deeds in Mass. Down From Month Before in Sept.,
But Record Number of Petitions in August
Signal More Trouble Ahead,
According to The Warren Group
Auction Announcements Stay Steady
BOSTON, Nov. 20, 2007 – Petitions to foreclose in Massachusetts hit a record high in August, the last month of data available from the state Land Court, where the petitions are filed. Foreclosure deeds fell in September, and auction announcements stayed steady, but the sharp rise in petitions – the first step in the foreclosure process – indicate the state’s problems with rising foreclosures are not finished, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
There were 3,115 petitions to foreclose filed in Massachusetts Land Court in August – the highest number of petitions filed in one month since The Warren Group began collecting foreclosure data in January 2005. Petitions rose 75.5 percent from August 2006, when 1,775 were filed. That number is also up 25.3 percent from the number of petitions filed in July 2007, when 2,486 – the previous record high – were filed.
Petitions to foreclose are the first step in the foreclosure process, and do not always end in actual foreclosure. Some homeowners eventually sell their homes or refinance. Announcements are placed in newspapers to advertise a scheduled auction, but are not a final count of actual foreclosure auctions. Some homeowners sell their homes before the auction happens.
Petition data for August is the latest full month available from Massachusetts Land Court.
Foreclosure auction announcements rose 102.7 percent in September, from 599 during that month last year to 1,214 this year. Auction announcements are slightly up from the 1,191 in August 2007, but are down from previous months. Foreclosure deeds rose 143.8 percent in September from 276 in 2006 to 673 this year. But deeds fell substantially from a high of 1,018 in August 2007.
“It’s interesting that foreclosure auctions and deeds are falling off slightly, given the ever-increasing number of petitions to foreclose we’ve been seeing,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “It could be that lenders are holding off on letting the ax fall, given their already-heavy portfolios real estate they have acquired through foreclosures. Or they could be heeding Gov. Deval Patrick’s plea to slow down the process. Whatever the reason is, we can be sure more foreclosures are coming down the pike, as petitions don’t seem to be letting up.”
About The Warren Group
The Warren Group, based in Boston, is the publisher of Banker & Tradesman, The Commercial Record and a series of association publications. As the premier provider of real estate data in New England, The Warren Group offers a range of real estate products and services for professionals and consumers searching for real estate and financial information. For more information about The Warren Group, please visit www.thewarrengroup.com or call 617-428-5100.