Warren Group

Foreclosure starts in Worcester County dropped by 24.7 percent in October, beating the state average and marking continued decline in foreclosures, which had been on the increase until September.

Home sales throughout MetroWest slipped in October, following a statewide trend that marked only the second time this year that sales did not grow over the previous year's numbers, according to The Warren Group.

Home sales throughout Central Massachusetts slipped in October, following a statewide trend that marked only the second time this year that sales did not grow over the previous year's numbers.

Worcester County's foreclosure starts fell by 24.7 percent in September, beating the state-wide decline of 18.7 percent in starts, while finalized foreclosures continued to rise in Worcester and statewide.

Home sales in Massachusetts stepped up 2.8 percent in September, and the 5,588 single-family homes sold last month represented the most active September in more than a decade, according to data released Tuesday.

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.

Massachusetts home sales in August shot up 9.8 percent, marking the most active August in 17 years.

Foreclosure starts in Central Massachusetts have dropped off, bringing an end to months of increases and improving more than the state as a whole.

Worcester and Middlesex counties mostly followed a statewide trend of lower home sales in July with a continued increase in prices for condominiums, according to The Warren Group.

Activists and homeowners Tuesday pushed the Legislature to clarify the rights of municipalities to try to prevent foreclosures and minimize their damage.