BOSTON, August 8, 2011 – Foreclosure activity in the Bay State soared in June from a month earlier, but levels were down from the high numbers recorded a year ago, according to the latest report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
Foreclosure deeds, which represent completed foreclosures, rose 42 percent to 931 in June, the highest number recorded since August 2010. Foreclosure deeds rose 64 percent from 569 deeds in May. Year-over-year, foreclosure deeds decreased more than 29 percent from 1,315 in June 2010. A total of 3,754 foreclosure deeds have been recorded in the first six months of the year, down almost 50 percent from 7,433 a year earlier.
June marked the highest number of deeds recorded in any month so far this year. In previous months, deeds lingered between 500 and 600 – reaching their previous 2011 height of 612 in March.
“After months of lenders slowing the foreclosure process, it seems more foreclosures are being pushed through the pipeline,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group.
Foreclosure petitions, which mark the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts, also spiked from the previous month. There were 990 petitions filed in June, up from 699 in May. But foreclosure petitions dropped more than 55 percent year-over-year from 2,220 in June 2010. Through June of this year, 5,415 petitions to foreclose have been filed statewide, down nearly 60 percent from 13,338 during the same period in 2010.
“The steep decline in yearly foreclosure activity shows there are still a glut of foreclosed properties on banks’ books,” Warren added. “A housing market recovery won’t be complete until these foreclosures work through the system.”
Second quarter foreclosure activity also decreased statewide. In the second quarter, foreclosure petitions dropped 57.4 percent to 2,880, down from 6,761 during the second quarter 2010. Completed foreclosures in the second quarter also declined more than 47 percent to 2,097, a drop from 3,984 during the same period last year.
The number of advertised auction notices also dropped during the month of June. There were 2,114 auction announcements in June, a near 22 percent drop from 2,706 a year ago. Year-to-date auction notices decreased 48 percent to 8,697 from 16,680 last year.
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