FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Editorial Contact:
Aglaia Pikounis
The Warren Group
(617) 896-5370
apikounis@thewarrengroup.com
Mass. Foreclosure Deeds Fall in August;
Lenders Start More Foreclosure Proceedings This Year
BOSTON, Sept. 22, 2009 – Fewer Bay State properties were foreclosed on in August compared to the prior month and August 2008, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
There were 658 foreclosure deeds recorded in August, down 34.5 percent from 1,005 in August 2008 and 4.4 percent lower than the 688 deeds in July, according to WarrenGroupForeclosures.com. Foreclosure deeds are the final step in the process and represent completed foreclosures. A total of 6,076 foreclosure deeds were recorded in the first eight months of 2009, a 31 percent drop from 8,811 last year.
“We are seeing this trend where the number of actual foreclosures has moderated this year compared to 2008. But what’s important to keep in mind is that lenders haven’t really slowed down on initiating foreclosures in Massachusetts. Since January, lenders have started an average of 110 foreclosure proceedings a day,” said Timothy M. Warren, CEO of The Warren Group.
Petitions to foreclose, which mark the initial stage of the foreclosure process, shot up 154 percent to 2,396 in August from 943 during the same month last year but were 17.4 percent lower than the 2,899 petitions filed in July. The large jump in year-over-year foreclosure petitions is mostly due to a state law that went into effect last May that led to a temporary lull in the initiation of foreclosure proceedings. The law requires lenders intending to start foreclosure proceedings to give defaulting borrowers 90 days to catch up with missed payments. So far this year, lenders have filed 19,108 petitions to foreclose, a 31.6 percent increase from 14,521 last year.
The number of auction announcements tracked by The Warren Group has fallen this year. Auction announcements dropped 22.1 percent to 1,370 in August from 1,759 in August 2008 and were also 32 percent lower than the 2,014 auction notices the prior month. So far this year, The Warren Group has tracked 10,764 auction notices, down 22 percent from 13,798 a year ago.
Data for every city and town in the state is available to members of the media by request.
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.