Massachusetts Foreclosed Homes

One in Eight Home Loans Delinquent or in Foreclosure

Nationwide, 12.6 percent of home loans were delinquent (at least one payment past due) or already in foreclosure at the end of the third quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

That equates to more than 6 million distressed homes; however, not every home loan that is delinquent will end up in foreclosure. In fact, the number of delinquent home loans declined by nearly 8 percent in the third quarter.

In October 2011, foreclosed or short-sale homes made up 28 percent of U.S. existing home sales, the National Association of Realtors recently reported.

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Massachusetts Foreclosure Activity Up October 2011

Massachusetts foreclosure activity increased on a month-over-month basis in October for the first time in more than a year, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported November 22, 2011.

In October, foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts, increased 5.9 percent, rising to 1,193 from 1,127 in October 2010. It's the fourth consecutive month of more than 1,000 foreclosure petitions. A total of 10,610 foreclosure petitions have been initiated through October this year, down nearly 52 percent from 22,091 petitions filed during the same period last year.

Foreclosure activity has been suppressed for much of the past year as lenders slowed public filings to review procedures for documenting foreclosures. In the aftermath of several court cases, lenders have more cautiously foreclosed on homwowners.

Lenders recorded a total of 756 foreclosure deeds, the final step in the foreclosure process, in October, a 35.7 percent increase from 557 during October 2010. A total of 6,963 foreclosure deeds have been filed through October 2011, a 39 percent decrease compared to 11,334 deeds recorded during the same period last year.

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BofA Exec. Says Foreclosures Selling Faster

Bank of America announced that it has picked up the pace in several markets in selling its inventory of foreclosed homes, REALTOR Magazine reported November 16, 2011. 

Brian Moynihan, Bank of America Corp.’s chief executive, said at a press conference recently that in cases where banks can take ownership of the properties quickly and get them cleaned up, they are able to get them back on the market and those properties are selling the fastest.

On the other hand, some states, such as Florida, which is a judicial state for foreclosures, continue to see delays, as foreclosures inch along at a slower pace, Moynihan said.

Overall, Moynihan said mortgage delinquencies are dropping in its portfolios and that home prices seem to be hovering at “a bottom” as the backlog of unsold homes reaches the market.

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U.S. Foreclosure Notices Increase Q3 2011

More U.S. homes entered the foreclosure process in the third quarter, but it took longer for those homes to be sold or repossessed by lenders, USA Today reported October 13, 2011.

The number of U.S. homes that received a first-time default notice during the July to September quarter increased 14 percent from the second quarter, according to RealtyTrac, a company that sells foreclosure data. Not all homeowners who receive a default notice will have their home foreclosed on.

    "That increase signals banks are moving more aggressively now against borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments than they have since industrywide foreclosure processing problems emerged last fall. Those problems resulted in a sharp drop in foreclosure activity."

Across the nation, 195,878 properties received a default notice in the third quarter. Despite a sharp increase from Q2 2011, the total was still down 27 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Lenders took back 196,530 homes during the quarter, a 4 percent decline from the second quarter and down 32 percent from Q3 2010.

Banks remain on track to repossess some 800,000 homes this year, a significant drop from more than 1 million repossesions last year.

    "While banks appear more willing to start the foreclosure countdown on borrowers, they haven't put a dent in the overall length of the     foreclosure process. In the third quarter, it took an average of 336 days, or 11.2 months, for a home to go from an initial notice of default     to being foreclosed by a lender, RealtyTrac said. That's up from 318 days, or 10.6 months, in the second quarter and represents the     longest span of time for the foreclosure process since the first quarter 2007, the firm said."

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Massachusett Foreclosure Deeds Jump August 2011

The number of foreclosure deeds filed in August was the highest of any month this year in Massachusetts, with more than 900 foreclosures completed, but was less than August 2010, the Patriot Ledger reported September 30, 2011

The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, released the data on foreclosure activity. The report shows an upward trend in Massachusetts foreclosures when comparing month-to-month figures, a trend that started in November 2010.

Completed foreclosures are still well below last year’s levels. The 937 foreclosure deeds recorded in August represented a 22 percent decline from August 2010.

Many big lenders slowed down the foreclosure process last year after a sandal broker regarding the proper signing of documents. After getting a handle on that issue, lenders seem to be ramping up efforts to move forward on seizing homes from homeowners not paying their home loans.

The good news for homeowners and the Massachusetts housing market is that the number of loans entering the foreclosure pipeline seems to be subsiding. Foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process, decreased to 1,397 last month, down 53 percent from August 2010 levels. That’s fairly consistent with the year-to-date figure of 55 percent below last year's foreclosure petitions.

Some neighborhoods will be dealing with foreclosures for a couple of more years, but the worst of the Massachusetts foreclosure crisis seems to be in the rear view mirror.

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Protesters Picket Bank of America in Malden, MA

Abandoned and unkept foreclosure properties have some people turning to picking up, as well as picketing, to try to push banks to be better landlords. The following NECN video is 3:51 minutes long.

 

Are More Short Sales Expected in Massachusetts?

Nearly a quarter-million homes have negative equity in Massachusetts, a number that has grown roughly 5 percent over the past year, the Boston Business Journal reported Tuesday, September 13, 2011.

A home is considered “underwater” when its mortgage exceeds the property’s overall value. Although the percentage of Massachusetts homes that are underwater is quite a bit lower than the national average (15.7 percent in MA, 22.5 percent nationally), Corelogic, a provider of financial, property and consumer information, reported that Bay State percentages are trending upwards while the national average declines.

The negative equity could end up forcing a lot of homeowners that must move, for jobs, divorce or other personal reasons, to list their home as a short sale. Failing to get lender approval for a short sale could lead to foreclosure. 

As of the end of June, 15.7 percent of Massachusetts homes were underwater compared to 14.9 percent at the third quarter 2010, a difference of 11,846 homes (234,443 in June 2011, 222.599 in September 2010).  The Boston-Quincy metro region saw negative equity rates rise from 15.7 percent in September 2010 to 16 percent in June 2011.

Nationally, negative equity rates dropped to 22.5 percent in June, down from 23.1 percent at the end of 2010.

MA July 2011 Auctions Announcements Down

The number of foreclosure auction announcements tracked by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, decreased in July, according to a statement released August 31, 20  11.

Auction announcements declined 26 percent to 1,319 from 1,788 in July 2010. From January through July, 10,107 auctions have been announced, a 45 percent decline from 18,468 auctions announced during the same period in 2010.

Mass Foreclosures Pick Up, Down Year-over-year

More than 1,400 foreclosures were initiated in Massachusetts in July, the highest monthly level recorded so far this year, but were down on a year-over-year basis, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported August 31, 2011.

Year-over-year foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts, were down in July, dropping 38 percent to 1,441 from 2,307 in July 2010; however, July marked the highest number of foreclosure starts since September, when there were 2,358 petitions filed. A total of 6,856 foreclosure petitions have been initiated through July of this year, down 56 percent from 15,645 petitions filed the same period last year.

The increase in foreclosure petitions may mean lenders finally are accelerating the process. Many experts believe the housing market cannot fully recover until the majority of foreclosures are sold. 

Foreclosure deeds, the final step in the foreclosure process, also dropped to 775 in July, a 38 percent decrease from 1,247 in July 2010. A total of 4,530 foreclosure deeds have been filed so far this year, a 48 percent decrease compared to 8,680 deeds recorded during the same period last year.

MA Foreclosure Auction Notices Decline June 2011

The number of advertised auction notices in Massachusetts declined during the month of June, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported August 8, 2011.

There were 2,114 auction announcements in June, about a 22 percent drop from 2,706 in June 2010. Auction notices during the first half of the year decreased 48 percent to 8,697 from 16,680 during the same period last year.

Q2 2011 Foreclosure Declines

Second quarter foreclosure activity declined in Massachusetts, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported August 8, 2011.

In the second quarter, Massachusetts foreclosure petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process, dropped 57.4 percent to 2,880, down from 6,761 during the second quarter 2010.

Completed foreclosures in the second quarter also declined, falling more than 47 percent to 2,097 compared to 3,984 foreclosure deeds during the same period last year.

Massachusetts Foreclosures Pick Up June 2011

Massachusetts foreclosure activity jumped in June 2011 from a month earlier, but the activity was  still down from the previous year, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported August 8, 2011.

Foreclosure deeds, which represent completed foreclosures, rose 64 percent from 569 deeds in May 2011; however, foreclosure deeds declined more than 29 percent from 1,315 in June 2010. A total of 3,754 foreclosure deeds were recorded in the first six months of the year, down almost 50 percent from 7,433 a year earlier.

June marked the highest number of deeds recorded in any month so far this year in Massachusetts. After many months of slowing down the foreclosure process, lenders seem to have decided to move foreclosures along.

Foreclosure petitions, which mark the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts, also rose from the May 2011 numbers. There were 990 petitions filed in June, up from 699 in May, but foreclosure petitions dropped more than 55 percent from 2,220 in previous year. Through June of this year, 5,415 petitions to foreclose have been filed in the Commonwealth, down nearly 60 percent from 13,338 during the same period in 2010.

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Relief for MA Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

The following short video from WHDH Boston outlines help for Massachusetts homeowners facing foreclosure from the Homeowner's Emergency Relief Fund.

 

Mass. Foreclosure Auctions Decline March 2011

The number of auction announcements tracked by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, fell in March compared to a year earlier.

According a report released April 20, 2011, there were 1,172 auction announcements in March, a 62 percent decrease from 3,094 announcements in March 2010.

Ready For A Summer Home?

Foreclosure activity declined in every county in Massachusetts in March, with the exception of Nantucket County, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported April 20, 2011.

Last month, there were seven auction announcements in Nantucket County, up from two in March 2010. Foreclosure deeds also increased to two completed foreclosures, up from one during March 2010.