Massachusetts Foreclosed Homes

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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.

MA Foreclosure Activity Continues Decline

Massachusetts foreclosure activity declined significantly during the month of March, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported April 20, 2011.

The number of foreclosures initiated by lenders dropped nearly 60 percent compared to March 2010 while completed foreclosures also declined about 60 percent.

Lenders filed 1,048 foreclosure petitions, the first step in the Massachusetts foreclosure process, in March, a 59.4 percent decrease from 2,581 in March 2010. A total of 2,535 petitions to foreclose have been filed in Massachusetts during the first quarter, a 61.5 percent decrease from 6,577 in the first quarter of last year.

Foreclosure deeds, which represent completed foreclosures in Massachusetts, also declined sharply in March, declining 60.3 percent to 552 in March compared to 1,391 in March 2010. Foreclosure deeds totaled 1,593 in the first quarter of 2011, a 53.8 percent drop from 3,449 in the first quarter of 2010.

Mass. Foreclosure Activity Declines February 2011

The number of completed foreclosures in Massachusetts declined nearly 44 percent in February to 515, down from 917 during the same month in 2010, The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman, reported March 31, 2011.
 
The number of foreclosure petitions also declined significantly, dropping 67 percent to 694 from 2,122 in February 2010.
 
Foreclosure petitions are the first step in the foreclosure process in Massachusetts. Foreclosure petitions have declined steadily for the past six months. The pace of petitions has remained less than 1,000 for the past three months, a significant change from 2010 when eight months saw more than 2,000 foreclosure petitions recorded.

The Warren Group also tracked a drop in auction announcements in February. A total of 842 auctions were announced last month, a near 70 percent decrease from 2,774 in February 2010. Year-to-date announcements totaled 1,992, a 61 percent drop from 5,159 during the same period last year.

11 Million U.S. Homes Underwater

About 11 million U.S. homes were worth less than their mortgages at the end of 2010, according to a March report from CoreLogic, Inc., a California-based real estate and financial information company.

An additional 2.4 million homeowners had less than five percent equity in their homes, so those borrowers will be underwater with even slight price declines.

The two categories add up to 28 percent of residences with mortgages.

MA Mortgage Delinquencies Decline January 2011

Mortgage delinquencies fell in January to 6.22 percent of all outstanding home loans in Greater Boston, a full percentage point lower than the percentage tracked a year earlier, the Boston Business Journal reported April 6, 2011.

According to a report by CoreLogic, a company that tracks financial information, the Boston-Quincy metropolitan area had a 7.27 percent mortgage-delinquency rate in January 2010. Mortgage delinquencies are defined as home loans more than 90 days past due.

Across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the mortgage delinquency rate fell to 5.92 percent of all home loans, a decline from 6.81 percent a year earlier.

CoreLogic said foreclosure rates increased in Greater Boston on a year-over-year basis in January, ticking up to 2.29 percent of all active home loans. The rate was 2.08 percent in January 2010.

U.S. Distressed Homes Bring Big Discounts

According to a report released by RealtyTrac, distressed homes in the United States sold at an average 28 percent discount in 2010, bringing overall home prices down, reported Bloomberg.com February 4, 2011.

Distressed homes, those homes in any phase of the foreclosure process, accounted for 26 percent of all transactions last year, down from 29 percent in 2009. With a high supply of distressed properties on the market and a low demand from home buyers, U.S. residential home prices fell 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter 2010 compared to Q4 2009. 

The average sales price of foreclosures actually went up in 2010, rising from $170,775 in 2009 to $172,030.  Bank-owned properties sold on average for a 36 percent discount, up from 33 percent in 2009, while homes in default or scheduled for auction sold at a 15 percent discount, down from 17 percent in 2009.

Foreclosure Paperwork Problems Hurt Housing Market. Who Actually Owns The House?

Problems with property title paperwork for foreclosured properties is hurting an already weak real estate market. It's a red flag for home buyers. Home buyers should work with experienced buyer agents and lawyers to protect their interests. The 60 Minutes video below aired April 3, 2011.