Bay State Foreclosures Down Two Months

The number of foreclosures in Massachusetts declined by double-digit percentages in May compared to last year and the prior month, according to the latest report from the Boston-based real estate research company ""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com. It's the second month in a row that foreclosures in the Bay State have slipped by more than 20 percent from the previous month.
Based on The Warren Group's market data, there were 582 foreclosure deeds recorded in Massachusetts in May, a 58.6 percent drop from 1,405 in May 2008 and 24.3 percent below April’s level of 769. Year-to-date foreclosure deeds fell 26.3 percent to 4,110.
Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, commented, ""The number of foreclosure deeds recorded in May was the lowest since April 2007. It is encouraging that foreclosures have declined for two months straight. I think lenders have realized how costly foreclosures can be and are taking steps to avoid foreclosure whenever possible.""
""But I remain concerned because unemployment has crept up, and many people who’ve lost their jobs will have trouble keeping up with mortgage payments,"" Warren added. ""In addition, it also looks like the pace of initiated foreclosures has remained fairly steady over the last four months. Lenders have started over 2,000 foreclosures a month since February.""
May kept pace with that troubling trend. A total of 2,329 foreclosure petitions, which mark the start of the foreclosure process in Massachusetts, were filed in May. That figure is 15.7 percent higher than the 2,013 petitions filed in April, and almost six times more than the 390 in May 2008.
Warren explained the staggering annual increment. ""The sharp increase in May foreclosure petitions year-over-year is due to the so-called 90-day right-to-cure law that went into effect last May. The state law, which requires lenders intending to foreclose to give delinquent borrowers in Massachusetts 90 days to catch up on missed mortgage payments, artificially depressed foreclosure petitions in May 2008,"" Warren said.
The Warren Group reported that auction announcements in the state last month fell 30.7 percent to 1,377, compared to 1,987 in May 2008. However, the May figure is 26.8 percent higher than April's 1,086 auction notices.