Massive Increase in Massachusetts Foreclosure Petitions and Deeds

Foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts experienced a 49 percent year-over-year increase in July, according to data released by The Warren Group. July was the 17th consecutive month that Massachusetts experienced a spike in petition filings.

Lenders in the Bay State filed 1,044 petitions to foreclose in July; last year, 702 petitions were filed. In the first seven months of this year, 6,360 petitions to foreclose were filed in Massachusetts, up 60 percent from the same period last year.

Furthermore, 386 foreclosure deeds were filed in July, a 77 percent rise from the 218 filed in July 2014. In the first seven months of this year, 2,416 deeds were filed in Massachusetts, up 27 percent from the 1,897 filed in the same period last year.

“Foreclosures continue to climb after a few years of very low activity as lenders catch up with regulatory changes,” said Cassidy Murphy, editorial director at The Warren Group. “While these numbers are higher relative to last year, the steady increase does not yet represent a cause for alarm.”