BOSTON – Foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts edged up 5.5 percent in September compared with August, according to data released Tuesday by real estate tracking firm The Warren Group.

The firm said lenders filed 2,527 petitions in September after filing 2,396 in August. The Warren Group added that lenders submitted 21,635 petitions from Jan. 1, 2009 to Sept. 30, 2009, marking an 18 percent increase from the same period last year.

And while petitions, the first step required to foreclosure, climbed, the number of completed foreclosures so far this year numbered 6,778 - or 29.5 percent lower than for the first nine months of 2008. The number of foreclosures also fell in Bristol County, dropping to 625 during the first nine months of 2009 from 881 during the same time in 2008.

“A combination of factors has led to a drop in [completed] foreclosures this year,” Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “Lenders have been facing pressure from federal leaders to offer trial loan modifications to troubled homeowners, and some banks had instituted foreclosure moratoriums late last year. Here in Massachusetts a law that went into effect last year delayed foreclosure proceedings from starting.”

Warren also noted that a recent court ruling has caused many lenders to proceed more cautiously before completing foreclosures. Last week, a Massachusetts Land Court judge reaffirmed an earlier decision that invalidated two foreclosures because the lenders had not properly proven that they owned the properties at the time they advertised the foreclosure auctions.

“This ruling has forced some lenders to hold back on proceedings until proper mortgage assignments have been made,” Warren said.

The Warren Group Inc. is a provider of New England real estate data and the publisher of Banker & Tradesman and other journals. Additional information is available at TheWarrenGroup.com.