Foreclosures in Massachusetts skyrocket

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Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Mass. foreclosure filings smash record
January had the highest number of monthly Massachusetts foreclosure filings in at least two decades as local consumers struggled to hang onto their homes, according to a new report.

Last month, 2,207 foreclosure filings - or 110 every business day - were submitted in Massachusetts, more than double the number of a year ago; filings in January 2007 were up 105 percent from 1,076 filings in January 2006, according to ForeclosuresMass.com, a Framingham firm that provides online Massachusetts foreclosure data to investors, real estate agents, and lenders.

"The flood of foreclosures in Massachusetts is not only continuing; it has reached a new high," company president Jeremy Shapiro said in a statement. "The fact we are starting the year with the highest number of foreclosures we've ever recorded for a single month is more than significant - it's ominous."

Using both its own sources and court data, ForeclosuresMass.com has detailed information on foreclosure filings going back to 1986, a company spokesman said; no month since 1986 has had more filings than January 2007.

Over the past 12 months, 20,618 foreclosures were initiated, up 77 percent from 11,650, for the comparable 12-month period a year ago, the firm said.

A foreclosure filing doesn't necessarily mean that borrowers lose their homes.

Lenders file a notice of intent to foreclose in Land Court when borrowers are at least 30 days behind on a mortgage payment.

In many cases, borrowers can negotiate with the lender to catch up on payments or sell the house to pay off the loan; generally, two-thirds of consumers who receive notices are never actually foreclosed upon.

Earlier this month, ForeclosuresMass.com released year-end statistics for 2006 that showed that more local homeowners were in danger of losing their homes than at any time since the real estate recession of the 1990s.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)