FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Editorial Contacts:
Katie Curnutte
The Warren Group
(617) 896-5370
Number of Mass. Petitions to Foreclose
Filed in First Three Quarters Eclipses Those Filed 2006;
Foreclosure Deeds in Mass. Rise Again in Oct.,
According to The Warren Group
Auction Announcements Jump 70 Percent in Oct.
BOSTON, Dec. 3, 2007 – More petitions to foreclose were filed in Massachusetts during the first three quarters of 2007 than were filed during the entire year of 2006, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
Lenders had filed 21,055 petitions to foreclose in Massachusetts Land Court by the end of September. During all 12 months of 2006, lenders filed 18,926 petitions. There were 12,550 filed by the end of September 2006.
During the month of September, lenders filed 2,509 petitions, an increase of 34.1 percent compared to the 1,871 filed in September 2006. That number is down slightly from the record 3,115 petitions filed in August.
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 September is the latest full month available from Massachusetts Land Court.
So far this year, there have been 6,324 foreclosure deeds in Massachusetts, compared to 2,112 at the end of October 2006. There were 2,634 foreclosure deeds in the state during 2006.
Foreclosure deeds in October jumped 119.5 percent from 333 last year to 731 this year. Deeds are also up when compared to the 673 in September 2007.
Auction announcements are up 70 percent from 700 in October 2006 to 1,190 this October. The number fell slightly from the 1,214 auctions that were announced in September.
“Petitions to foreclose in September might have fallen when compared to August, but I think we’ll see petitions during the rest of this year continue their steady upward march,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “August’s numbers were incredibly high, but we will probably see them matched before too long. Petitions may seem to have calmed a bit in September, but that is likely temporary. I think we’ll see more record-breaking numbers before the end of 2007.”
Massachusetts Petitions to Foreclose
Jan. 2005 -Oct. 2007
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.