Massachusetts Foreclosed Homes

MA Auction Announcements Increase in 2010

The Warren Group reported on January 19, 2011 that a large increase in Massachusetts auction announcements in 2010.

A total of 29,227 auction announcements were tracked in Massachusetts in 2010, a 50.6 percent increase from 19,441 in 2009. Auction announcements in December 2010 totaled 1,076, a 50 percent drop from 2,152 in November and also declined 44.3 percent from 1,931 during December 2009.

 

MA Foreclosures Climb 32 Percent in 2010

The number of completed foreclosures in Massachusetts jumped almost 32 percent in 2010 to 12,233, increasing from 9,269 in 2009; however, the number of completed foreclosures in 2010 did not surpass the record 12,430 foreclosures recorded in 2008, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported January 19, 2011.

The number of foreclosure petitions, the first step in the Massachusetts foreclosure process, declined 14.3 percent to 23,933 compared from 27,928 in 2009. The statistics for petitions to foreclose may be artificially low because some lenders slowed foreclosure processing in the last four months of the year because of alleged lapses in legal procedures.

Foreclosure petitions dropped dramatically in December. A total of 733 starts were recorded, a 64.4 percent decline from 2,060 in December 2009. Petitions also dropped from November 2010, when there were 1,109 foreclosure petitions recorded. The number of foreclosure petitions exceeded 2,000 for eight of the 12 months in 2010, falling below 2,000 for the last three months. 

In December, there were 481 foreclosure deeds, a near 44 percent drop from 857 foreclosure deeds recorded in December 2009. Foreclosure deeds represent completed foreclosures. Foreclosure deeds increased in December compared to November when there were 418 foreclosure deeds recorded. Foreclosure deeds peaked in March at 1,391.

Both foreclosure petitions and deeds dropped in the fourth quarter. A total of 2,969 foreclosure petitions were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2010, down almost 53 percent from the 6,293 petitions during the same period in 2009. Foreclosure deeds dropped to 1,456 in the fourth quarter, a 41.1 percent decline from 2,473 deeds in the fourth quarter of 2009. The fourth quarter marked the slowest activity for both petitions and deeds this past year.

Year-to date petitions were down in every county except Nantucket County. A total of 88 foreclosure petitions were recorded in 2010, up almost 9 percent from 81 in 2009. On the contrary, foreclosure deeds also increased in every county in 2010, except both Nantucket and Dukes Counties. There were 12 completed foreclosures in Nantucket County in all of 2010, down from 25 in 2009. Dukes County saw no change in its foreclosure deeds in 2010. There were 38 completed foreclosures in both 2009 and 2010 in Dukes County.

Sec. of State Galvin Calls for Foreclosure Tribunal

Earlier this month the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court made a ruling that puts the ownership of thousands of properties that were repossessed by lenders into question.

The Boston Globe reported January 11, 2011 that Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin is now calling for the Massachusetts Legislature to create a “special tribunal” to deal with homeowners’ issues that may arise due to the court decision. 

Galvin believes that the state’s Land Court should appoint a judge, or create a tribunal, that could oversee hearings dealing with the validity of property titles and even help homeowners by answering questions about their legal rights and the legal rights of banks that are trying to seize their homes. Galvin also recommended that the legislature should set a time limit for homeowners to make title claims, so that title concerns “do not remain unresolved indefinitely.”

The setting of a time limit for making claims makes a lot sense. A statute of limitations on such claims will avoid having a great number of properties without marketable title indefinitely.

“There is a lot of uncertainly out there,’’ Galvin told the Globe referring to the foreclosure crisis. “We can’t let this sit here for months and fester.’’

Galvin’s proposal follows the SJC decision to uphold a Land Court ruling that invalidated the foreclosure sales conducted by two plaintiff banks, stating that the banks “failed to make the required showing that they were the holders of the mortgages at the time of foreclosure.”

SJC Upholds Land Court Judge in Ibanez Case

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly reported January 7, 2011 that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently upheld a Land Court judge’s decision made in the U.S. Bank v. Ibanez case, which invalidated the foreclosure sales conducted by two plaintiff banks, stating that the banks “failed to make the required showing that they were the holders of the mortgages at the time of foreclosure.”

The plaintiffs argued that they submitted “securitization documents," proving they indeed held the mortgages before the notice of sale and the foreclosure sale. The ruling stated that the documents alone did not demonstrate that the banks were holders of the mortgages, thus the banks could not have conveyed title to the subject properties.

Although the plaintiffs and the Real Estate Bar Association had pushed to have the ruling applied prospectively, the courts stated that since the decision did not significantly change the common law the ruling should be applied retroactively.

The 32-page decision is U.S. Bank National Association v. Ibanez (and a consolidated case), Lawyers Weekly No. 10-005-11. The full text of the ruling can be found on the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Web site.

For a detailed anaylsis of the case, read Apocalypse Now? Will The Massachusetts Ibanez Case Unravel Widespread Irregularities In The Residential Securitized Mortgage Market? on the Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog.

Massachusetts Auction Announcements Decline

In November, the number of real estate auction announcements tracked by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, declined to 2,077, about a 7 percent drop from 2,226 in November 2009.

Auctions in November also declined from the previous month, when there were 3,292 auction announcements. October's auction numbers were the highest recorded since The Warren Group began tracking foreclosure data in 2006.

Year-to-date auction announcements are up more than 60 percent. So far this year, 28,126 auctions have been announced, up from 17,510 during the same period last year.

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