FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Editorial Contacts:

Aglaia Pikounis                                                                                    Michelle Laczkoski

The Warren Group                                                                   The Warren Group

(617) 896-5370                                                                                   (617) 896-5355

apikounis@thewarrengroup.com                                             mlaczkoski@thewarrengroup.com                                                                                                      

Bay State Foreclosure Petitions Drop In January;

Foreclosure Deeds Inch Up From Previous Month, Year Ago

BOSTON, March 2, 2010 – The number of foreclosures started by lenders in Massachusetts during the month of January dropped to the lowest level in more than a year, according to a new report by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Lenders filed 1,874 petitions to foreclose – which mark the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts – in January, a 9 percent decrease from 2,060 in December and 4.4 percent drop from a year earlier. Foreclosure petitions exceeded 2,000 for most months in 2009, falling below that number only in January and November.

“Foreclosure activity, as measured by petitions to foreclose, has started to moderate, with the lowest level of petitions since December 2008. The federal loan modification program was slow to make a dent in foreclosure activity but recently lenders have accelerated their efforts,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group.

In January, 1,061 foreclosure deeds were recorded, up from 978 in January 2009 and 857 in December. This was the highest number of foreclosures for the month of January since The Warren Group started tracking statewide foreclosure activity in 2006.

The number of auction announcements tracked by The Warren Group also surged in January. Auction announcements shot up 81.5 percent to 2,385 from 1,314 in January 2009 and were also 23 percent higher than the 1,931 auction announcements tracked in December.

Statistics regarding foreclosures in individual cities and town 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.