Chance to Purchase a Foreclosure May Be Over For Most MA Home Buyers

For many Massachusetts home buyers interested in purchasing a foreclosed property time may have run out. 

The number of foreclosure petitions – the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts – plunged by 82 percent in March, declining to 284 foreclosure petitions compared to 1,621 petitions in March 2012, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported May 13, 2013. 

A total of 2,080 petitions to foreclose were filed in Massachusetts during the first quarter, a 52 percent decrease from 4,348 in the first quarter of 2012. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that Massachusetts ranks 48th in foreclosures started in the first quarter of 2013.

Foreclosure deeds, which represent finished foreclosures, also posted a sharp decrease in March. Foreclosure deeds declined more than 74 percent to 227 in March, down from 899 in March 2012. Foreclosure deeds totaled 716 in the first quarter of 2013, nearly a 71 percent decrease from 2,465 in the first quarter of last year.

The number of auction announcements tracked also declined in March compared to March 2013. There were 398 auction announcements in March, a 67 percent decrease from 1,214 auction announcements last year. In the first three months of the year, there were 1,102 auction announcements, down more than 73 percent from 4,174 during Q1 2012.