Mass. foreclosures surged 52 percent through April

PHOTO/Michael novinson The property at 39 and 41 Sophia Dr., were among the more than 700 Worcester properties listed by the city as being under foreclosure in 2014.

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By State House News Service

Completed home foreclosures are up nearly 52 percent in Massachusetts over the first four months of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015, The Warren Group reported Wednesday morning.

There were 457 foreclosure deeds filed in April, a 29.5 percent increase over April 2015. And 1,944 deeds reflecting a change in ownership of foreclosed properties have been recorded in Massachusetts over the year's first four months.

Foreclosure petition filings - marking the first step in the foreclosure process - are up 26.2 percent over the first four months of 2016, after a 16.6 percent jump in April, The Warren Group said. Monthly petition filings, which do not always lead to foreclosures, have posted year-over-year increases for 26 consecutive months.

In April, lenders filed 1,117 petitions to foreclose with the Land Court, compared with 958 filed in April of last year.

“Foreclosure starts might be starting to moderate a bit. At least the rate of growth has slowed from the 55 percent increase that we saw in 2015,” Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement. "April’s total of foreclosure starts is modestly lower than we saw in February and March. However, lenders are still processing a backlog so it is unlikely that we will see a dramatic decrease in the number anytime this year."