Published in the July 6, 2017 edition
BOSTON, July 6, 2017 – Foreclosure petitions in May are down 8.0 percent compared to last year, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.
That trend is even more significant in Wakefield, where only two petitions to foreclose were filed in May, the latest month for which information is available. There were three in May 2016.
Statewide, a total of 1,040 petitions were filed in May, compared to 1,130 in May 2016. Petitions are the first entry in the public record in the foreclosure process, when lenders file a notice of intention to foreclose with the Land Court.
Year to date, the state has seen 4,964 total petitions filed, down 11.6 percent from the 5,614 filed over the first five months of 2016.
“After rising for three straight years, the declines in foreclosure starts so far this year is a welcome sight,” said Timothy Warren, CEO of The Warren Group. “May was the second month this year with more that 1000 petitions. The backlog in processing continues to work its way through the pipeline.”
Statewide there were 581 foreclosure auctions scheduled in May, a decrease of 33.6 percent from May 2016, when there were 875 auctions scheduled. An auction is scheduled through legal advertising in local newspapers with the lender giving the time, date and address for the auction to take place.
In May 2017, no auctions were scheduled in Wakefield, the same number as the year previous.
Year to date, the state had 3,086 total auctions, down 18.0 percent from the 3,762 over the same period in 2016.
There were 484 foreclosure deeds recorded in May, a 5.5 percent increase from the 459 recorded in May 2016. These deeds represent completed foreclosures, when lenders put the change in ownership of the foreclosed property in the public record at registries of deeds.
Year to date, the state filed 2,614 total deeds, up 8.7 percent from the 2,404 filed over the same period in 2016.
In Wakefield in May, no foreclosure deeds were recorded.
