Massachusetts Home Buyer Guide

Lenders worked through the backlog of Massachusetts foreclosures in 2014. 

Massachusetts foreclosure petitions – the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts – increased 45.4 percent in 2014 to 7,588, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported February 5, 2014. There were 5,220 petitions recorded in 2013.

The number of foreclosure petitions declined 12.7 percent from November to December, but increased 97 percent in December 2014 compared to December 2013. 

The number of recorded foreclosure deeds – the final step of the Massachusetts foreclosure process – decreased nearly 2 percent in 2014 to 3,627 compared to 3,692 foreclosure deeds in 2013. The number of foreclosure deeds declined 6.4 percent from November to December, but increased 38.2 percent in December 2014 compared to December 2013. 

The number of auction announcements in 2014 declined 9.3 percent to 5,504 compared to 6,067 auction announcements in 2013. There were 504 auction announcements in December compared to 439 auction announcements in December 2013.

"Looking back to the years when we were truly in a foreclosure crisis, the increase in year-over-year data does not indicate to me that we are headed for a crisis; however, it is something that we will be following closely as we head in 2015," Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said. "This is a reflection of the uneven work flow from prior delays and a backlog in foreclosure paperwork."