Foreclosure petitions climb 42% in Mass. in Nov., 39% in Bristol Co.

FORECLOSURE PETITIONS in Bristol County mirrored statewide trends, with a 39 percent hike in petitions over the year in November, according to The Warren Group. / COURTESY THE WARREN GROUP
FORECLOSURE PETITIONS in Bristol County mirrored statewide trends, with a 39 percent hike in petitions over the year in November, according to The Warren Group. / COURTESY THE WARREN GROUP

BOSTON – Foreclosure petitions increased nearly 42 percent in the Bay State with 910 filings by lenders in November compared with 643 filings in November 2014, according to The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
The Warren Group said Tuesday that November marked the 21st consecutive month of year-over-year double-digit increases in petition filings.
Year to date, 10,543 petitions were filed, a 50 percent increase over the 7,027 filed in the first 11 months of 2014.
Bristol County mirrored statewide trends, with a 39 percent hike in petitions over the year in November, to 89 from 64, and a nearly 51 percent jump year to date, with 1,146 petitions filed compared with 760 during the year-ago period.
Petitions are the first entry in the public record in the foreclosure process, when lenders file a notice of intention to foreclose with the Land Court, The Warren Group said.

“We’ve been tracking this steady increase in foreclosures for some time,” Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “It represents many of the larger lenders finally coming to grips with Massachusetts’ regulatory changes, and moving delinquent mortgages into the foreclosure process. I don’t believe these are new mortgages or that the homeowners have recently failed into default. For the most part these are problem loans that have been on the books as delinquent for months or years.”

As for foreclosure auctions, there were 586 scheduled statewide in November, a 5.4 percent increase from the prior-year period, when 556 auctions were scheduled.
Year to date, 6,281 auctions had been scheduled, 25.6 percent more than the 5,000 scheduled through the first 11 months of 2014.
In Bristol County, auctions decreased 29 percent over the year, falling to 73 from 103, while year to date, they increased 30.7 percent to 891 from 682.
There were 397 foreclosure deeds recorded in Massachusetts in November, a 16.1 percent decrease from the 342 recorded in November 2014. However, year to date, 3,930 deeds were recorded in 2015, a 19 percent increase from the 3,302 deeds recorded through November 2014.
In Bristol County, foreclosure deeds jumped 80 percent in November to 36 from 20 a year ago. Year to date, the increase was smaller, 8.6 percent, to 454 from 418 during the year-ago period. These deeds represent completed foreclosures, according to The Warren Group.

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