.png?width=400&height=85&name=2023%20BBO%20Logo%20800x170%20(400%20x%2085%20px).png "Buyers Brokers Only, LLC - Exclusive Buyer Agents")
Investors or first-time home buyers that were hoping to grab a foreclosure property to rehab in Massachusetts may only have a few opportunities left.
The number of foreclosure deeds recorded statewide decreased from 6,491 foreclosure deeds in the first nine months of 2012 to 2,382 foreclosure deeds through September 2013, a 63 percent decline, The Warren Group reported October 29, 2013. Foreclosure deeds are the final step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts.
A total of 247 foreclosure deeds were recorded in September, a 52 percent decline from 512 in September 2012. Foreclosure deeds also dropped in the third quarter, decreasing more than 53 percent to 806 from 1,726 during Q3 2012.
Real estate industry observers believe the housing crisis is over in Massachusetts. “The foreclosure numbers in September and the third quarter further bolster the opinion that foreclosures are in full retreat due to a booming [Massachusetts] real estate market and government programs designed to assist homeowners who are delinquent on their mortgages,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “It’s been a solid year of foreclosure decreases, indicating the worst of the housing crisis is over.”
In September, foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts, decreased to 438, a 69 percent drop from 1,420 in September 2012. Not all foreclosure petitions result in a homeowner losing their home. Through September, foreclosure petitions also declined compared to last year. A total of 4,174 foreclosure petitions have been initiated through the first nine months of 2013, a 70 percent decline from 13,876 petitions filed during the same period last year. A total of 1,281 foreclosure petitions were filed in the third quarter, down more than 71 percent from third quarter 2012 when there were 4,451 petitions filed.
The number of Massachusetts auction announcements tracked by The Warren Group also decreased in September. Auction announcements declined 19 percent to 729 from 902 in September 2012. From January through September, 4,516 auctions have been announced, a 60 percent decline from 11,326 auctions during the same period in 2012.
