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""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com, a Boston-based provider of real estate data, reports that year-over-year foreclosure petitions and deeds decreased in the Bay State during October. It was the first time this year that both petitions and deeds fell in Massachusetts.
[IMAGE]Foreclosure petitions plunged nearly 51 percent from 2,296 in October 2009 to 1,127 in October, the first month since January they have dropped below 2,000.
""It's possible that this decline in foreclosure starts was influenced by the example set by Bank of America when they temporarily suspended foreclosure activity,"" said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group. ""Lenders may have waited to file petitions while rechecking their procedures and paperwork. As a result, we are likely to see a decrease over the next few months because of these delays.""
In October, 557 foreclosure deeds were recorded, which is a 39 percent drop from 914 last year. However, year-to-date foreclosure deeds are up-with 11,334 completed this year. That's a 47 percent increase from the same period in 2009. According to the Warren Group, deeds recorded in 2010 could outpace the record number in 2008.
The last time foreclosure deeds dipped to this extent was in April 2007 when there were 464 deeds. October was also the first month this year that there was a decrease in year-over-year completed foreclosures.
[COLUMN_BREAK]""While the decreases in foreclosure volume are welcoming, we should not be fooled into thinking that foreclosure problems are behind us,"" Warren added. ""Due to job and economic conditions, many homeowners are delinquent on their mortgages, and those problems will eventually find their way into foreclosure statistics.""
The Warren Group also reports that, in the fourth straight month of year-over-year sales declines, single-family home sales in Massachusetts decreased more than 28 percent in October.
With 3,013 homes sold, it is the fewest number of sales since February of this year and the fewest amount for any October since 1990. Nantucket County was the only county in the state where sales were up in October-by 12.5 percent.
Year-to-date sales are up almost 2.2 percent from the same period last year.
""As expected, sales have been declining consistently in the months following the expiration of the tax credit for homebuyers,"" Warren said. ""While sales for the first 10 months of the year exceed those in the same period last year, we expect that a slow November and December will make 2010 a downer. Sales volume has declined in four of the past five years.""
The median price of single-family homes in the state climbed 3.2 percent to $289,000, up from $280,000 a year earlier.
""The direction of median prices usually lags the direction of sales volume by six months or more. We could see median prices drop in another month or two,"" Warren explained.
Condominium sales also dropped year-over-year for the fourth consecutive month to 1,185 condos sold in October, a more than 35 percent drop from 1,839 sold a year earlier.
However, year-to-date condo sales rose 0.3 percent from last year. The median condo price also increased. The median selling price was $252,000, up 5 percent from $240,000 a year earlier.
