Providence metro area foreclosure filings up 8%

FORECLOSURE filings in the Providence-Fall-River-New Bedford area rose 8 percent in November compared with same period last year, RealtyTrac said Thursday. / BLOOMBERG NEWS FILE PHOTO JOSHUA LOTT
FORECLOSURE filings in the Providence-Fall-River-New Bedford area rose 8 percent in November compared with same period last year, RealtyTrac said Thursday. / BLOOMBERG NEWS FILE PHOTO JOSHUA LOTT

PROVIDENCE – Foreclosure filings in the Providence-Fall-River-New Bedford area rose 8 percent in November compared with same period last year, RealtyTrac said Thursday.
Lenders initiated 732 filings, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, for the month, up from 676 last November, the California-based real estate tracking firm said.
The increase in filings was led by repossessions, which rose from 178 in November 2010 to 230 last month.
The number of default notices, the first step in the foreclosure process, declined year-over-year from 131 last November to 102 last month.
In Rhode Island, total foreclosure filings rose 20 percent compared with November 2010 to 474.
In Massachusetts, total filings rose 11 percent year-over-year to 2,484.
The local figures bucked national foreclosure filings, which declined 14 percent in November from a year earlier.
“Despite a seasonal slowdown similar to what we’ve seen in each of the past four years, November’s numbers suggest a new set of incoming foreclosure waves, many of which may roll into the market as REOs or short sales sometime early next year,” said James Saccacio, co-founder of RealtyTrac.
“Overall foreclosure activity is down 14 percent from a year ago, the smallest annual decrease over the past 12 months, and some bellwether states such as California, Arizona and Massachusetts actually posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in November.”

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