The seemingly endless rise in foreclosure starts finally leveled out throughout the state and dropped in Worcester County in August, although Middlesex County saw continued foreclosure growth.
According to a new report from Boston real estate data firm The Warren Group, the state saw a 0.7-percent year-over-year increase in foreclosure petitions, which begin the foreclosure process. There have been 8,614 petitions filed year to date in the Bay State, a 17.7-percent increase from last year’s mark through August with 7,319.
“To some extent improving economy, strong job creation and a robust real estate market have curtailed foreclosure starts. And perhaps the clogged pipeline of old delinquent mortgages has reached a steady or slower flow,” Timothy Warren., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement.
Foreclosures continued to work their way through the system, however, with auctions and deeds up 31.8 and 74.4 percent, respectively.
Worcester County fared even better than the state as a whole, with foreclosure petitions falling 13.3 percent to 176 compared to 203 in August of 2015. But it wasn’t all good news, as auctions were up 271 percent year-over-year while deeds were up 82.9 percent.
Middlesex County had a 16.8-percent jump in foreclosure petitions, from 119 last August to 139. The number of auctions, however, were only up 5.8 percent year-over-year while the number of deeds were up 85.4 percent.
