BOSTON, May 5, 2015 – Foreclosure petitions in the Bay State continued to climb in March, posting a 68 percent increase compared with March 2014, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. This marked the 13th consecutive month of increases in petition filings. Petitions mark the first step in the foreclosure process.
Lenders filed 1,108 petitions to foreclose in March compared with 660 filings during this time last year. March also marked the highest number of petitions filed since October 2012 when 1,458 petitions were recorded. The first quarter of this year posted a 77.3 percent increase from the first quarter of last year. A total of 2,594 petitions were filed in the first three months of the year compared with 1,463 petitions filed in the first quarter of last year.
“We continue to see volume increases in every step of the foreclosure process,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “I am confident the increases are due to mortgages that have been delinquent for many months or even years. A recent study reported that 73 percent of mortgages that are seriously delinquent or in foreclosure were originated in 2007 or earlier. We are not repeating the same mistakes as in the past.”
Statewide, foreclosure deeds reported a 51 percent increase in March with 359 deeds filed compared with 238 filings in March 2014. The month’s filings were the highest of the year so far. A total of 927 deeds were filed in the first quarter of this year, a 3.0 percent decrease from the 956 deeds filed in the first quarter of last year. Deeds represent completed foreclosures.
The number of auction announcements tracked by The Warren Group rose in March compared with a year earlier. There were 462 auction announcements filed, a 47.6 percent increase from the 313 announcements filed at the same time last year. The first quarter of this year also saw an increase of 150 percent in auction filings with 1,629 auction announcements recorded compared with 651 in the first quarter of last year.
The Warren Group offers a range of real estate products, information services and printed publications, including the weekly newspapers Banker & Tradesman and The Commercial Record. The company also presents and organizes trade shows and events for a variety of industries, including bankers, mortgage brokers, credit unions and lawyers. Based in Boston, the company was established in 1872 and is now in its fourth generation of family ownership and management. For more information about The Warren Group, visit www.thewarrengroup.com.
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