The Foreclosure Report

Defaults "Nearly Triple" In Massachusetts

The Boston Globe report from Massachusetts. "Foreclosure auction announcements in Massachusetts nearly tripled in May when compared with year-ago numbers, according to a new report from the Warren Group. May also marked the eighth straight month in which more than 2,000 petitions to foreclose were filed, said the Warren Group, the Boston publisher of Banker & Tradesman and a provider of real estate data."

"There were 1,589 announcements of foreclosure auctions in May, compared with 654 in May 2006, the group said."

"'As we can see from May's numbers, foreclosures are still affecting homeowners across Massachusetts,' Timothy Warren, CEO of the Warren Group, said in a statement. 'And the Bay State has not yet seen this problem peak.'"

"Warren noted in his statement, 'As we see a higher number of homes make it farther through the foreclosure process, it becomes evident that homeowners are finding it difficult to refinance their mortgage or sell their homes before they reach auction.'"

"One factor driving the increase in foreclosure auction announcements, regulators believe, was the rising popularity of so-called subprime loans in recent years; in general, subprime loans are marketed to home buyers with poor credit ratings."

The Business Journal. "May also marked the eighth consecutive month in which more than 2,000 petitions to foreclose were filed, the Warren Group reported. There were 1,589 announcements of foreclosure auctions in Massachusetts last month compared with 654 in May 2006, an increase of 143 percent. Petitions to foreclose rose 39.3 percent compared to May 2006, with 2,164 filed this year and 1,553 filed last year."

"Petitions rose slightly from April, when 2,005 were filed in Massachusetts Land Court compared with 1,589 in May. Auction announcements, however, fell from April to May. There were 1,712 announcements in newspapers in April."

posted by Ben Jones @ 3:32 PM