Foreclosure petitions spike in June

Real estate foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts rose in June, jumping 81 percent over last year as mortgage holders push through a backlog of delinquent loans, according to The Warren Group, the Boston-based real estate data firm.

The 16th consecutive month of increased petition filings saw 886 petitions to foreclose, up from 488 during the same month last year. A total of 5,316 petitions were filed in the first half of the year, compared with 3,264 petitions filed during the same time frame in 2014, a 63-percent increase. Petitions mark the first step in the foreclosure process.

"The increases in foreclosure starts that we have been seeing steadily for months now are likely to continue through the second half of the year," Tim Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. "Some lenders had let a lot of delinquent mortgages accumulate in the pipeline over the past few years. Now that the market has improved and buyers are eager for affordable homes to purchase, the backlog is getting pushed through the system."

Statewide, foreclosure deeds – the final step in the process - saw a 34 percent increase in June with 411 deeds filed, up from 305 in June 2014. A total of 2,034 deeds have been filed this year, up 21 percent from the 1,679 deeds filed in the same time frame last year.