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March 8, 2017

Worcester County foreclosures rise 5%

Although Massachusetts foreclosure starts were down for the fifth straight month in comparison to last year, the number in Worcester County increased 5 percent, according to Boston real estate data firm The Warren Group.

In Worcester, the number of foreclosure petitions fell from 49 in January 2016 to 45 in January 2017. In Fitchburg, petitions rose year-to-year from eight to nine; and in Leominster, petitions rose from three to four.

Across Worcester County, foreclosure starts rose by 5 percent, to 162.

Statewide, the numbers showed a nearly 3-percent decrease year-to-year. Foreclosure petitions are the first step in the foreclosure process, when lenders file a notice of intent to foreclose in Land Court.

“We continue to see petitions to foreclose decline after steady increases over a period of more than two years,“ Timothy Warren, CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. “The clogged pipeline of delinquent mortgages is clearing up now."

The number of foreclosure auctions fell by less than 1 percent year-to-year, while the number of foreclosure deeds rose by more than 40 percent, to 503. Those deeds represent completed foreclosures, when lenders put the change in ownership of the foreclosed property in the public record at registries of deeds, The Warren Group said.

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