Foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts declined 29.9 percent in December, compared to December 2015, according to a press release from The Warren Group on Tuesday.
Massachusetts lenders filed 866 petitions to foreclose in December, compared with 1,236 filed in December of last year, The Warren Group said.
There have been 12,276 petitions filed year to date in the Bay State, a 3-percent increase from last year’s mark through December with 11,916.
Petitions mark the first step in the foreclosure process, when lenders file notice of their intention to foreclose with the commonwealth’s Land Court.
“After more than two years of steady and alarming increases, we now see double-digit percentage decreases in each of the past four months,” Warren Group President and CEO Timothy Warren, Jr. said the the press release.
Foreclosure deeds increased minimally, from 470 in December 2015 to 471 in December 2016. Deeds represent completed foreclosures.
