Worcester County foreclosures fall; state levels out

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By Sam Bonacci

The seemingly endless rise in foreclosure starts finally leveled out throughout the state and dropped in Worcester County in August, although Middlesex County saw continued foreclosure growth.

According to a new report from Boston real estate data firm The Warren Group, the state saw a 0.7-percent year-over-year increase in foreclosure petitions, which begin the foreclosure process. There have been 8,614 petitions filed year to date in the Bay State, a 17.7-percent increase from last year’s mark through August with 7,319.

“To some extent improving economy, strong job creation and a robust real estate market have curtailed foreclosure starts. And perhaps the clogged pipeline of old delinquent mortgages has reached a steady or slower flow,” Timothy Warren., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement.

Foreclosures continued to work their way through the system, however, with auctions and deeds up 31.8 and 74.4 percent, respectively.

Worcester County fared even better than the state as a whole, with foreclosure petitions falling 13.3 percent to 176 compared to 203 in August of 2015. But it wasn’t all good news, as auctions were up 271 percent year-over-year while deeds were up 82.9 percent.

Middlesex County had a 16.8-percent jump in foreclosure petitions, from 119 last August to 139. The number of auctions, however, were only up 5.8 percent year-over-year while the number of deeds were up 85.4 percent.