Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

The number of Massachusetts foreclosure petitions increased 81 percent in June compared to June 2014, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported August 4, 2015. 

Foreclosure petitions – the first step in the Massachusetts foreclosure process – have increased for more than a year. June marked the 16th consecutive month of increases in petition filings.

Lenders recorded 886 petitions to foreclose in June compared with 488 petitions in June 2014. A total of 5,316 petitions were filed in the first half of 2015 compared with 3,264 petitions filed during the same six-month period in 2014, a 62.9 percent increase.

“The increases in foreclosure starts that we have been seeing steadily for months now are likely to continue through the second half of the year,” said Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group. “Some lenders had let a lot of delinquent mortgages accumulate in the pipeline over the past few years. Now that the market has improved and buyers are eager for affordable homes to purchase, the backlog is getting pushed through the system.”

Foreclosure deeds increased 34 percent in June to 411 recorded deeds compared to 305 foreclosure deeds in June 2014. A total of 2,034 Massachusetts foreclosure deeds were recorded January through June of 2015, a 21 percent increase from the 1,679 deeds filed during the same period last year. Massachusetts foreclosure deeds are the final step in the Massachusetts foreclosure process and represent completed foreclosures.

In June the number of auction announcements declined compared to June 2014. There were 504 auction announcements filed, a 4.2 percent decrease from the 526 announcements filed in June 2014. Through June auctions increased 43 percent, with 2,034 auction announcements recorded compared to 1,679 in the first six months of last year.