[1]Foreclosure petitions increased [2] year-over-year in Massachusetts for the seventh consecutive month in September, according to the Warren Group [3], publisher of Banker & Tradesman [4].
The number of foreclosure petitions, which are requests for injunctions filed by borrowers to stop the foreclosure process, jumped from 438 in September 2013 to 734 in September 2014 in the Bay State, a 68 percent year-over-year increase, according to the Warrant Group. For the third quarter in 2014, foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts also saw a 68 percent year-over-year jump from 1,281 to 2,155.
Meanwhile, the number of foreclosure starts in Massachusetts in September 2014 rose by 30 percent from the same month in 2013, up from 4,174 to 5,419, the Warren Group reported.
"The foreclosure numbers in September continued to rise modestly, but I’m confident we are not headed for a crisis," said Cassidy Murphy, editorial director of The Warren Group. "Year-to-date, we see the numbers for auctions and deeds decreasing, and the percentage increases we have seen over the last few months in foreclosure starts are tapering off. I expect that trend to continue."
Completed foreclosure deeds increased in September from a year ago in Massachusetts by 5 percent, up from 280 to 294, according to the Warren Group. Year-to-date for the first nine months of 2014, however, the number of foreclosure deeds declined from the same period a year ago by 9 percent from 2,786 to 2,538. Foreclosure deeds also declined year-over-year in the third quarter of 2014 by close to 9 percent, from 943 down to 859.
The Warren Group also reported a substantial year-over-year decline in the number of foreclosure auction announcements in September, in the third quarter, and year-to-date. In September 2014, the 478 auction announcements reported represented a 37.2 percent decline from 761 in September 2013. In the Q3 2014, auction announcements fell 21 percent from the same quarter a year ago, from 1,980 down to 1,574. Year-to-date in 2014, auction announcements fell 17 percent from January through September of 2013, dropping from 4,548 down to 3,780.