FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Editorial Contacts:
Katie Curnutte
The Warren Group
(617) 896-5370
Michelle Heaney
The Warren Group
(617) 896-5362
Mass. Foreclosure Deeds Up Over 1000% Since 2005;
April Deeds Hit New High,
According to The Warren Group
Number of Auction Announcements Stabilizing in April
BOSTON, May 29, 2008– Massachusetts foreclosure deeds soared to their highest recorded level in April, and the number of deeds so far this year outpaced those in the first four months of 2005 by 1,165 percent, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
“The Massachusetts foreclosure mess is just not getting better,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “Thousands of homeowners are entering the foreclosure process every month, and about one-third of them are losing their homes. It’s staggering to see how the numbers have exploded in the past three years.”
Foreclosure deeds rose 187.5 percent in April, from 464 in April 2007 to 1,334. Since The Warren Group began tracking deeds in 2005, there have not been more than 1,334 deeds recorded in a single month. Deeds recorded in the first four months of the year are up 152.2 percent, from 1,650 last year to 4,161 this year.
In the past three years, the number of deeds has increased 1,165 percent, from 329 during the first four months of 2005.
Petitions to foreclose – the first step in the foreclosure process – increased 66 percent in April, from 2,004 last year to 3,327 this year – the highest number of deeds in any month since TWG began recording in 2005. Petitions recorded year-to-date rose 46.3 percent, from 8,433 to 12,335.
Auction announcements, however, seemed to stabilize somewhat in April. After two years of monthly increases that sometimes hovered above 200 percent, announcements increased only 7.2 percent in April, from 1,647 last year to 1,765 this year. Year-to-date auction announcements rose 44.7 percent from 4,729 to 6,844.
Petitions to foreclose do not always result in auction announcements or foreclosure deeds. Some homeowners sell their homes, refinance or find an alternate way to halt the foreclosure.
Data for every city and town in the state is available 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.
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